Leland's parents first noticed his interests in arts when he was about four years old. Leland began to draw several hundred pictures within a span of a few months He made each drawing with slight variations and no two were exactly alike. His parents were very concerned with his obsessive and perseverative behavior in making those sketches. They focused their efforts on providing therapies and treatments for Leland. It wasn't until Leland was eight years old when his talents really began to be noticed.
The experts from Leland's school district found out about Leland's talent and came to evaluate him. They asked him to replicate some of the renaissance masterpieces during an evaluation session. With relative ease, Leland recreated them with amazing likeness.
Leland seemed to have a photographic memory for some of the things he saw. Whether a scene from a cartoon show, an activity at a family outing, or a masterpiece from an art exhibition, Leland has the ability to capture the images in his mind and later replicate them with remarkable detail and depth in his drawings.
The most remarkable aspect of Leland's art is his unique perception of the world. What Leland lacks in verbal communication skills, God makes it up by giving him an exceptional visual acuity and vivid imagination. As Leland faces various challenges in life, art becomes an important means of communication for him. He portrays the state of his inner world through his artwork. Rich textures and bold colors become the manifestations of his inner being and trademark of his artwork. Leland is inseparable with arts; he draws and paints just about everywhere he goes. Whether he is working on a large size canvas or doodling in his sketchbooks, he is always passionate about his creations.
For more information and to view Leland’s art, please visit Leland's websites:
Reprinted with permission
©RCM AUTISM NOTEBOOK 2010
Leland Lee
Born 1989 - California
Leland Lee was born on May 29, 1989 of a Taiwanese American
family in Los Angeles, California. He currently resides in Taipei,
Taiwan. At about 18 months of age, his parents noticed a drastic
change in Leland's behavior. He went from being an interactive,
verbal child to a whiny and crying toddler who would throw temper
tantrums for no apparent reason. Most troubling of all was the fact
that he had stopped communicating and regressed into a state of
non-responsiveness and reclusion. Because of this dramatic
deterioration in his developmental state, his parents took mmediate action by seeking expert help. After numerous diagnostics and testing, the experts at various medical institutions confirmed Leland to be autistic. Hence, Leland's life long battle with Autism began.
