An 18-year-old student born with a congenital disorder graduated from National Taichung Special Education School with a Mayoral Award earlier this month.
Born with Apert syndrome — a disorder characterized by malformation of the skull, face, hands and feet — Wang Kuan-chun (王冠峻) was deemed to have multiple handicaps and was enrolled in the school for disabled people.
His homeroom teacher, Hsiao Hsu-mei (蕭素美), said she noticed that Wang liked to drum his hands on flat surfaces, so she arranged for him to practice on a cajon.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
Wang and his classmates formed a band and obtained a street performing license from the city, Hsiao said.
She later suggested he switch to a drum set, she added.
Due to the lack of apoptosis, a process that causes fingers to separate, Wang initially found it difficult to hold the drumstick and had to grip it between his thumb and index finger, but they often went flying.
The teachers improved Wang’s grip by tying friction strips to the drumstick, which stopped it from flying off every time, but also caused Wang’s thumbs to become sore and often bloody, Hsiao said.
However, he never gave up, she added.
Wang said he has never had formal music training and is unable to read sheet music, relying instead on remembering the melody and rhythm of each section of a piece.
Wang’s talent shone after he started playing on the full drum set, Hsiao said, adding that he would often be able to replicate the rhythm of a piece by just listening to the melody.
“Others might practice 10 times, but it will take me many, many repetitions; it might be difficult, it might hurt, but I did it! I’m going to live with the beat,” Wang said.
Although he had only played the drum set for less than a year, he last year took first place in a national competition for disabled people, obtained a street performing license with another band and was earlier this year awarded the Presidential Education Award.
He said he wishes to thank both Huang Jui-ling (黃瑞陵) and Liao Ying-tzu (廖盈姿) for their cajon and the drum set instruction respectively.
Wang said he wishes to continue to play the drums for a living after graduation, adding that he wants to prove that no matter a person’s physical condition, everyone is born with unique talents.
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