“People say that they recognise me from my work, and I really feel very happy and encouraged." 24-year-old Timothy Lee, who is an actor and performer with Down syndrome. Together with his father roger, they share with us Timothy's journey of overcoming challenges, embracing his passion for the performing arts, and also becoming the first local actor with Down syndrome on MediaCorp Channel 5.
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Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
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00:00When we bring him to church, and there's worship, there's music, there's dance,
00:05you can feel that he can go along with the rhythm of the music and the dance.
00:10So I think maybe he has affinity towards performing arts.
00:19Hi, my name is Timothy, and I am 24 years old, and I am an actor and performer.
00:25I dance, I play the cajon as well.
00:28My name is Roger, I'm the dad of Timothy.
00:32You know, Timothy is known as Handsome, and he's the first local actor with Down syndrome on
00:41Mediacorp Channel 5 TV.
00:43When Timothy was born, he was diagnosed with Down syndrome.
00:47As a family, we were pretty shocked, you know.
00:49And of course, we know that the journey will be long, and we know that he will need a lot
00:55of intervention, such as speech therapy, improvement of motor skills, and so on.
01:01And I guess the family took it as a challenge,
01:03and we hope to groom him in his life and in his career.
01:10For Timothy, he went to special schools such as Rainbow Centre and MICE,
01:17and where he received a special education.
01:20They tailored, customised some of the training programmes,
01:24whereby he's able to excel in terms of speech, excel in terms of
01:33independent living, so that to groom him, that he can be independent for his future life.
01:41And at the same time, he's indeed privileged to go to a normal school,
01:46naval-based primary school, whereby he undergone about six years of primary school education.
01:53From young, we feel that Timothy loves music.
01:57Whenever we turn on the music, and we turn on certain songs, we can see his eyes brighten up.
02:05When we bring him to church, and there's worship, there's music, there's dance,
02:10we can feel that he can go along with the rhythm of the music and the dance.
02:14When we watch the YouTube videos and so on, and we find that he's able to dance,
02:19and he's able to follow a little bit here and there.
02:22So I think that that more or less confirms that, hey, maybe he enjoys performing arts.
02:28I attended several classes in Art D to pursue my passion.
02:33I attended theatre class, Kong class, dancing class, and puppetry class.
02:40I like to go on stage to dance, and it makes me very happy.
02:45Timothy gets a lot of exposure from the classes he undergone in Art D.
02:52And at the same time, the Purple Parade event, whereby a lot of disabled artists will perform,
02:59and that gives him a lot of opportunities too.
03:02With Art D, I represented Singapore for a dance drama two years ago in Japan.
03:08I also performed at events like Purple Parade, various events in the hospital, charity shows.
03:17Company dinner and lunch at schools too.
03:20There was an opportunity whereby, you know, Metacorp called Art D, you know, to see whether
03:27there's any, I would say, appropriate Down syndrome actor, and Art D called my wife.
03:34And later on, we decided that, you know, perhaps we should go for the interview
03:39with the Art D's manager's encouragement.
03:43Initially, we were kind of worried and, of course, apprehensive whether he can do well
03:49in the drama.
03:50But after going through the three and a half years of, I would say, acting exposure,
03:56and, of course, a lot of training, we are very proud of him that he's able to do well.
04:02And we think that perhaps he can pursue performing arts as one of his careers in the future.
04:07It was my most memorable acting performance.
04:11I acted in Metacorp for a long-form drama.
04:14It lasted for three and a half years.
04:16I guess for the family, you know, we need a champion, a champion that believes in his
04:21capability and his ability.
04:24My wife is able to do that role, and encouraging him, and, of course, bringing him to the studio,
04:32practicing all the lines, you know, reading all the scripts, ensuring that we are on time,
04:37punctuality, and so on.
04:39So I think the champion is a key, I would say, motivator for Timothy to perform.
04:45He has got very strong motivation to want to excel.
04:48You know, he will bring his scripts everywhere he goes.
04:51Memorize his scripts in the car while having meals outside the house.
04:56So he really is engrossed in this particular project.
04:59So I think we can see his hard work, and, of course, his hard work bears fruits for
05:05him to be able to do well in the production.
05:08His acting career provides him, I would say, a stepping stone to his next career.
05:13For theatre projects, you know, it's even more challenging, you know, and, of course,
05:19there will be a lot of rehearsals, you know, day and night, you know, and, of course, waiting time.
05:25You must remember all the lines, and there's no NGs allowed, you know,
05:29because you are looking at a live audience.
05:32With that kind of practice, that kind of exposure, he's able to have another
05:41new form of performance in the theatre.
05:46I entered in various theatre plays, such as The Day I Met the Prince,
05:52and a musical show called Chow Cham Bo.
05:56Both shows are my favourite.
05:58Actually, he has achieved a lot under the training as an artist.
06:02We are proud of him.
06:03Our family is truly proud of him.
06:05And all our immediate family will support all the shows wherever he performs.
06:11The audience have given Timothy a lot of strength through the social media.
06:16Facebook, Instagram, you know, there are a lot of encouraging words,
06:20especially those parents who have special needs children.
06:26They are truly motivated.
06:27And, of course, you know, his fan base encourages him a lot.
06:32People say that they recognise me for my work, and I really feel very happy and encouraged.
06:39They never ask me for the autograph, but they ask me to take more pictures.
06:44For what he has done so far, it shows that there's no limit for disabled people.
06:48You know, it is, I think, quite important for all of us, you know,
06:52to help and raise the potential of each individual, whether disabled or non-disabled.
06:59A lot of times, it is always the parents' passion that translates into the interest of the child.
07:08But for a special child, it is important for us as parents to be able to identify
07:14and find out exactly what our child is passionate about.
07:18And once we can find it out, we slowly steer towards that particular direction.
07:24And hopefully, the child will excel in that particular direction.
07:29For Timothy, you know, we look at what he's going through now.
07:34You know, he can't rest on his laurels because, you know, it's always challenging.
07:40You know, a lot of new forms of performance are coming up,
07:44and we wish that he can carry on to do what he wants to do, and his passion never dies,
07:51and that he will be able to become an accomplished actor in his own right.
07:57I would say thank you to my mum, who has been helping me all these years.
08:02And also, I would say my daddy, who has been supporting me in terms of my behaviour.
08:09Rice, and my mum also.
08:12So I thank you, mum and dad.
08:15Most people think that Down syndrome are not able to do a lot of things,
08:21and they should stay at home, but that's not true.
08:24If we are given training and encouragement,
08:29we are able to excel in our lives.
08:32There are a lot of opportunities right now.
08:35Even our ministers, you know, general public support inclusivity, you know.
08:43And of course, with so many of the events, such as Purple Parade,
08:47a lot of NGOs that run programmes for the disabled people,
08:52we are seeing a very bright spot, you know, whereby Singapore is helping out,
08:59encouraging and accepting people with special needs.
09:02It will be very exciting for us if we can look at Timothy's passion,
09:08and that his passion is still burning,
09:13and that as parents, we can keep on adjusting and motivating him
09:19so that he can reach the pinnacle of his passion.