Martin Thomas speaks through colours

Once left to sit alone in the corner, overlooked by teachers who did not understand his condition, Martin Thomas has turned silence into a symphony of colour.

Now 30, Martin is an artist who communicates through vibrant paintings and digital illustrations, transforming personal challenges into global triumphs.

The St James native, who struggled with delayed speech and barely navigated a school system unprepared for his autism, has become the sole illustrator for the UK-based children's book Carl's Big Day Out and is launching his interactive project Colouring with Martism.

"All the graphics are done by him," his proud mother, Janice Hall-Thomas, said of his partnership with UK-based organization Autistic Eye for the children's book.

His achievements are the culmination of years of relentless effort by his parents, ensuring he was not left behind in a world with few resources for neurodivergent individuals.

Martin communicates less with words and more through painting and digital illustrations. His journey, shaped by the challenges of growing up on the autism spectrum, has been one of patience, persistence, and creativity.

According to Hall-Thomas, conversations about Autism Spectrum Disorder were rare when Martin was a child. At first, she simply thought she had a quiet son.

"My first son was a model baby, so I made the assumption with the second one that I am so lucky I am having two good babies," she said. Hall-Thomas recalled how he used to line up all his toys and play quietly by himself. "I thought, wow! This is great," she recalled.

It wasn't until Martin began school that she realized something was different. He struggled to keep pace with his peers and was initially informally diagnosed with "delayed speech."

"The diagnosis was made at school. He went to school in September, he was four, he wasn't talking, but there were other children not speaking. But by January everybody else was speaking, except him, so I got concerned. They said, probably he wasn't hearing. We did that test and everything was OK. We were sent to Kingston where the diagnosis was made," Hall-Thomas explained.

Initially, Martin was given a chance to learn and participate, but once his autism diagnosis became known, he was largely left on his own. Awareness of autism was minimal, and few people truly understood how to support him. After the diagnosis, she said Martin was treated differently. "He was just left," she said.

Though he was assessed as able to attend a regular school, he required speech therapy, which meant traveling from Montego Bay, St James, to Kingston -- several hours away.

"Every six weeks we would drive four hours to Kingston for a 45-minute session, it was very very costly," she said.

With limited awareness and resources, Hall-Thomas moved Martin between schools in search of support. At one point, she chose not to disclose his autism diagnosis, fearing he would be sidelined.

"I didn't tell them about the diagnosis, I said to them he has a speech impediment. I didn't want them to leave him in the corner again, so they worked with him, thinking he had a speech impediment. They included him in everything, the kids accepted," she said.

Despite receiving speech therapy three times a week, Hall-Thomas eventually focused on ensuring her son could develop basic life skills.

Martin, who also has a passion for music, was enrolled in a school for gifted children on the autism spectrum. However, the school still did not meet his needs. Determined to provide fundamental skills for her son, Hall-Thomas later transferred him to a school for "slow learners" because Martin did not sit the Grade Six Assessment Test, which was required for placement in high school. But the school pushed advanced subjects instead.

It was then that Hall-Thomas turned to art, approaching a gallery owner for guidance and this time disclosing her son's diagnosis.

"He was there with him for a year, but he too had his own style and technique, shading ... [but] he wasn't interested in all that he just wanted to paint," she said.

Martin's love for painting was encouraged, and not long after, his works were displayed at an art exhibition and one piece was sold. "That was his journey to becoming an artist," Hall-Thomas recalled with a hearty laugh.

Martin's next project is Colouring with Martism. She explained, "M for Martin, then 'art' and then you know 'tism' is for autism. His artwork is in that one with activities he gets from the internet on the opposite page that goes with the artwork."

Looking back, Hall-Thomas said drawing has always been central to her son's development.

"All he did in school was draw, he drew every single day, when he was at prep school he drew, when he went to high school he drew," she said, noting that although Martin now speaks more, he still primarily expresses himself through art.

For Martin, his work brings a sense of pride. "I feel special and proud. I did Carl's Big Day Out and Colouring with Martism. I illustrated it all, I have my iPad to draw something in Fresco," he told THE STAR.

"I have a next one, I want it to be done this year," he added, though Hall-Thomas noted the project, a collaboration with another autistic individual, has faced delays.

While April is observed as Autism Awareness Month, Hall-Thomas believes more support is needed.

"Now, if I say my child is autistic they understand so there is awareness, but there are not many facilities to help them," she said.