SINGAPORE — It is difficult for 19-year-old See Toh Sheng Jie to sit still because he is constantly fidgeting and easily distracted. For a few hours every day though, Sheng Jie, who has autism, is entirely focused on one thing: Dinosaurs.

For the last 16 years, Sheng Jie has been quietly drawing dinosaurs and creating Blu-Tack or clay figurines of these prehistoric animals for up to five hours daily.

And earlier this week, one of his designs made it to the White House, in the hands of Ms Ho Ching, who accompanied her husband, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on his official visit to the United States.

On Wednesday, photos of Ms Ho carrying a blue pouch with white dinosaur motifs went viral online. That same day, 200 pieces of the S$14.80 pouch, sold online and at two physical shops run by Pathlight School’s retail arm, The Art Faculty, were snatched up by buyers. By Thursday, the pouches were sold out, with some 100 interested buyers still on a waiting list.

(Ms Ho Ching carrying the pouch during the Welcome Ceremony at the White House on Aug 2 (US time) as she walks alongside First Lady of the US, Michelle Obama. Photo: Jason Quah)

(Sheng Jie's pouch seen with his dinosaur drawings and figurines at The Art Faculty in Enabling Village. Photo: Wong Pei Ting)

(A sign seen at The Art Faculty in Enabling Village informing customers that Sheng Jie's product is sold out. Photo: Wong Pei Ting)

Sheng Jie, who studies at Pathlight School, does not speak much usually, but when asked about the attention over his pouch, he simply replied: “Happy.”

His father, Mr Jason See Toh, told TODAY they were surprised that Ms Ho took the pouch to the US and thought the school was “joking” when it conveyed the news. He hopes the sudden wave of attention will help the public become more aware of people with autistic and start to understand their abilities.

Mr See Toh said that Sheng Jie’s fascination with dinosaurs — show him any dinosaur picture and he is likely to be able to name it — was piqued when he was three, after he watched a Disney movie about dinosaurs.

It was the first movie Sheng Jie managed to fully concentrate on. Since watching the movie, Sheng Jie started drawing dinosaurs and creating dino figurines.

(Before Sheng Jie was exposed to the clay medium, he was creating dinosaur figurines using Blu-Tack. Photo: Wong Pei Ting)

“Every day, he spends about three to five hours on either drawing or moulding of dinosaurs,” said his father, who added that Sheng Jie’s interest in dinosaurs came as a relief to the family. “When he wants to throw a tantrum, now we would know to give him a dinosaur, then he will start to calm down,” he added.

The student’s artistic talent was spotted by his teachers at Pathlight School, and Sheng Jie was invited to join the school’s Artist Development Programme, which seeks to nurture students’ artistic talents and turn their work into merchandise for sale. Students earn royalties from the sales.

Describing how the now-famous pouch came about, the father said that instead of drawing “whole dinosaurs”, the teen drew dinosaur outlines on a piece of scrap paper one day. “I thought it was nice and showed it to his teacher.”

After he saw it, Sheng Jie’s art coach, Mr Ng Geok Seng, suggested the icons be drawn on an A3 sheet of paper so that they could be printed on a pouch. About a month later, in January this year, the pouch was put up for sale at The Art Faculty, together with more than a hundred pieces of Sheng Jie’s work, produced over the last five years.

(Sheng Jie's artist corner at The Art Faculty in Enabling Village. Photo: Koh Mui Fong)

Ms Jacelyn Lim, deputy executive director of the Autism Resource Centre, the parent charity of Pathlight School said: "We saw his work. We recognise his special talent, so we are very glad to have this happen, but beyond this, there is a bigger story. There are other artists like him who are talented and we want to support and celebrate their abilities.”