Watch This Half-Pinay Teen With Autism Express Her Fearlessness

People with autism cannot always express themselves well. But, for many, their musical, mathematical or artistic abilities become their form of expression. Such is the case of Samantha Kaspar, who was diagnosed on the autism spectrum when she was 1-and-a-half years old.  

Her parents, Martin and Mitzi, noticed her talent when Samantha started doodling when she was about 5 years old. By the time she was 7, she was drawing people with facial expressions that articulated complex emotions, from annoyance to joy to wonder. 

IMAGE courtesy of Kaspar family

IMAGE courtesy of Kaspar family

Mitzi and Martin started sharing their daughter's work and even made them into holiday cards. Eventually, people started to notice -- and buy -- and last January 2017, the Center for Possibilities Foundation staged Samantha's first solo exhibit at the RCBC Plaza where forty of her artworks were displayed. Her choices of colors, the details of her patterns, and her clean, confident lines showed a 19-year-old with an eloquent mind. 

"She has no fear [when she approaches her work]," says her art coach Ken Sioson, who has been helping Sam develop her style for a year and a half now. "You ask her to make a circle, and she will draw it in one movement—you don't see any hesitation. Her hands are even steadier than mine." 

IMAGE courtesy of Kaspar family

IMAGE courtesy of Kaspar family

This April 3 to 7, Samantha, along with seven fellow artists with autism, will be in New York to celebrate the United Nations World Autism Awareness Month via the Fashion Arts Autism Benefits, presented by Autism Hearts Foundation and the Philippine Consulate General New York. One of the events will be a fashion show that will feature their artwork incorporated into the clothes by Patis Tesoro and Anthony Cruz Legarda. 

Samantha, who loves to sing and has done so at the Miss Possibilities pageant and her RCBC exhibit, was hard at work on her piece for one of Legarda's gowns when we visited her before she flew to New York (watch our video above). Like many of her previous works, Samantha was using woven silk from pineapple fibers, or piña seda, as her canvas. It was a delicate material, but you almost wouldn't know it when Samantha started working -- fearless as always

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