By Cecelia Alphonsus
“No, I don’t want to sing a love song. No!” he says adamantly with lips pressed together determinedly while firmly holding on to his guitar, eyes focused on the ground with his head turned away from us.
Meet, Joshua Danial Johnson, the tall 24-year old award-winning composer and lead vocalist of ZIMI’J who has a gentle and melodic voice that belies his burly stature.
“He is the best at what he does,” Ilyas Faisal Wong says as he gazes proudly at his bandmate.
Moments before refusing our request to sing a love song, Joshua had belted out “Short and Sweet”, a song he composed himself that left us pretty much speechless as it sounded like a hit number on a Classic Rock chart.
That in itself was already remarkable but what made the experience outstanding was the fact that Joshua and 22-year old Ilyas are autistic students at the Vyner Music and Training Centre. Joshua is the only child of founder, Sharon Rachel Vyner who is a petite, warm and bubbly 46-year old who has devoted her life to caring for not only her son but a number of other autistic children and young adults at her centre.
“Actually, they are all my babies,” says Sharon excitedly as she has nurtured most of her students since they were pre-schoolers, long before she started the centre in 2016. To them, she is “Teacher Sharon”, watching her interact with her charges, you can literally feel the love she exudes for all her students.
“Children on the spectrum, are all different. No two are the same and shouldn’t be lumped into one box,” explains Sharon.
“Joshua could not speak until the age of nine. But after years of proper care and the right kind of nurturing, he has made tremendous improvements.” Last year, Joshua won the “Best Expression” award at the Autistic Talent Gala 2017 in Hong Kong.
After listening to Joshua sing his award-winning composition while expertly strumming the guitar, its nothing short of amazing when the reality of the developmental challenges he faced sinks in.
“It is really essential that autistic children get help as early as possible to maximise their chances of being able to communicate. You see, I have a girl here, who is about 12 but she didn’t receive the right nurturing in her formative years and its very difficult to help her with her speech now,” says Sharon sadly.
Coming from a musically inclined family, Sharon found that music was a way to reach autistic children as it gave them an outlet to express themselves as well. Studies show that approximately 10% of people with autism spectrum disorders have special “savant” skills, similar to the role Dustin Hoffman played in the movie Rain Man. One of the more common savant skills involve musical abilities. For example, an autistic savant might be able to play a piano concerto after hearing it once or sing acapella with pitch perfect tones.
Ilyas, who in his own words is the “super professional teacher at this school now” surprised us with his deep baritone voice as he rendered a Cantonese song nearly pitch perfect. The joy that crept across his face as he lapped up our praises was priceless. Ilyas is the drummer of the band but he and another student, Wan Zareef Nuqman, the bass guitarist, are also assistant teachers in the school.
“Do you find it challenging to teach the younger children,” I asked a grinning Zareef, who insisted that ourinterview was done privately behind closed doors. He replied with a shrug and said “No, it’s easy”. 
Zareef, Ilyas and Joshua, together with Maxx Lim, the keyboardist are all pioneer students of the centre. Currently they are busy with rehearsals for a performance at the launch of Headstart Academy on July 29th at SACC Mall, Shah Alam. Headstart Academy is a premier Early Intervention Program using the renowned Saint Clare’s School of Special Education academic curriculum from Singapore and the first of its kind in Malaysia.
Sharon encourages parents to take this opportunity to sign up for free screening slots at the launch of the academy. “Don’t put them (the children) in a box and say no, they can’t do this or that because they have special needs.”
When screened early coupled with the right environment and professional care, autistic children as demonstrated by the musical savants ZIMI’J, they can blossom into productive and interactive adults.
“Never doubt them or stigmatize them, they can do many things,” says Sharon.
To catch Joshua and his friends perform this Sunday, July 29th 2018 for the launch of Headstart Academy at 11am, SACC Mall, Shah Alam do visit their website www.headstart.my for further details. Or follow their FB page – HeadstartMalaysia to book a free screening slot. Follow the adventures of Joshua and his bandmates on FB – Vyner Music and Training Centre
