DR RADICA MAHASE
“I have had to overcome many challenges over the years. I think when I was a younger, I was non-verbal and it was very challenging understanding what was being said to me. Even when I started talking, I needed time to respond to questions or when people were talking too fast. Another major challenge was making friends at school and being bullied by the other students.”
These are some of the experiences of Kendell Boodoo, a 24-year-old self-taught animator, who was diagnosed with autism at six. He is a very creative young man who has already won awards for his artistic abilities. Boodoo experienced severe bullying at both primary and high school. He struggled with making friends and he still has difficulties communicating and expressing himself. Today, Boodoo is a year two student at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).
When he was three, Boodoo’s mother recognised his creative streak. He sculpted fruits and vegetables using Play-doh. He even created an alien amusement park with the rides and the monsters lined up waiting to get on. At five he was using Paint in Accessories to draw his characters and print them.
Boodoo was non-verbal for most of his younger years. Boodoo said, “I attended four special schools before I started primary school at the age of nine, in second-year class. I wrote SEA at the age of 15 and graduated from Brazil Secondary School in 2017 when I was 20 years of age. I completed a diploma in animation studies and i am currently pursuing a bachelor of fine arts in digital media arts.”
[caption id="attachment_934892" align="alignnone" width="788"] Kendell Boodoo, receives an Autism Superhero Award 2021 - Personal Achievement from Chelsi Thompson.
Photo courtesy Kareem La Borde - Kareem La Borde[/caption]
Boodoo is an accomplished animator. He says, “I created an alter-ego character named 'KBMW' to help me cope with bullying. I did cartooning to express myself to my parents and teachers. This helped me to tell my side of the story without using words. Sometimes when I have to talk about what happened I will get confused and more upset.”
Boodoo also has his own YouTube channel and his current project is a mini series called Kenny and Brown Bear, stories based on his personal experiences as a child.
He received an award for Personal Achievement at the Autism Superhero Awards 2021 organised by Support Autism T&T.
Boodoo said, “One of my biggest accomplishments is winning the Most Promising Animator Award from the Animae Caribe Film Festival in 2015. I also feel very proud of myself because I am also pursuing my dreams to become an animator, at UTT.”
As a young man with autism, Boodool has his fair share of challenges but his successes should show us that individuals on the autism spectrum can live very successful, accomplished lives. Boodoo was very determined to succeed and with the help of his mother Amoy Boodoo, he was able to "float" through the public school system. Despite all his ch
