7 February 2023
BURCU ÇALIK – From a single-storey shanty house in Istanbul's Beykoz district, the sound of a piano rises in melodies that would not shame a master's fingers. Yunus Yazar (19), who has autism and the same musical ear as the world-famous composer Mozart, is waiting — in defiance of his condition and the years spent in poverty — for the day when the doors of the conservatoire will open for him too, with the piano given to him as a gift by a benefactor.
One of the twin children of the Yazar family, who struggle to make a living in a single-storey shanty house in Beykoz, Yunus did not speak a single word until the age of 3, and first began to communicate with those around him through letters his mother made from knitting wool and by tearing up newspaper. By the age of 4, unlike his peers, Yunus had long since learned to read and write.
After long periods in hospital, Yunus was diagnosed at the age of 7 with “Asperger's Syndrome”, one of the autism spectrum disorders. Throughout his schooling he was educated as an inclusion student, and for a time he was dependent on antidepressant medication.
The same musical gift as Mozart
Yunus's life took an entirely different course when his music teacher at lower secondary school discovered him. His teacher established that Yunus — whom many around him excluded, regarding him as “intellectually disabled” — possessed the exceptional musical gift known as “absolute pitch”, the ability to write down any sound directly as a note without needing a reference, found in artists such as Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin.
With his teacher's support Yunus succeeded in entering a fine arts high school on a full scholarship and graduated last year, but because he could not pass the “100-point” threshold in the university examination he was unable to sit the conservatoires' aptitude tests.
Holding on to life with the piano given to him by a benefactor and dreaming of the day he will go to the conservatoire, Yunus also tries to support his mother, who has partial paralysis in her leg and is fighting cancer.
“I play the piano 7–8 hours a day”
Yunus Yazar and his family told an Anadolu Agency reporter about their lives at their home in Beykoz.
Yunus, who has no friends and spends most of his day at home, said: “I play the piano 7–8 hours a day. Last year I graduated from the fine arts high school. I want to go to university. I would prefer to study at a conservatoire. My dream is to be a musician, a pianist. I have sat the university examination twice, once last year and once this year. I got a low score. The threshold requirement should be abolished; I would prefer to enter through the aptitude examination.”
Explaining that he wakes at four every morning to give his mother her medicines and tries to help her with the housework, Yunus described his love of the piano in these words: “For me it is like eating and drinking water.”
Noting that he was excluded by his friends at lower secondary school but got on very well with all his friends at high school, Yunus said: “My music teacher at lower secondary school discovered me and took me into the choir. He said I had ‘absolute pitch' and prepared me for the fine arts high school. I want young people who are talented and in my situation to be able to enter university, and I want the threshold in the Transition to Higher Education Examination (YGS) to be abolished.”
“He would tear up the newspaper to make letters”
His mother, Aylin Yazar (47), a housewife, said she has been fighting thyroid cancer for around 7 years and that partial paralysis developed in her leg following an accident.
Noting that besides the twins Yunus and Emre they have a 12-year-old son, Yazar described her son's childhood in these words: “Yunus spoke late; he taught himself to read and write. He began to write letters and then to read by joining letters together, but he simply would not speak. He was very withdrawn. He would go off into his own corner and write there constantly. Every day he wanted me to buy a newspaper; he would cut them up and write. He would tear up the newspaper to make letters.”
Saying that her son helps her a great deal at home, Yazar said: “I cannot get up; he gives me my medicines. My son does the things I cannot do. May God be pleased with him, he is my hands and feet.”
Yazar noted that they first took Yunus to the doctor thinking he was ill, and that their whole life changed with the subsequent diagnosis of “autism”. Saying that Yunus was happiest at the fine arts high school, where he could be immersed in music, Yazar said: “We want the threshold requirement in the YGS examination to be abolished and children like this to be helped.”
“Abolish the threshold”
His father, Seyfettin Yazar (47), a civil servant, also stressed that a new page opened in his son's life when the music teacher identified Yunus's “absolute pitch” at lower secondary school.
Noting that they are striving for Yunus to be able to enter university, Seyfettin Yazar said: “Yunus is trying to get into university, but because of his condition it does not happen. His mathematical side is weak. That is why he cannot pass the YGS threshold. And so he cannot sit the aptitude examination either. This is the barrier we face. Our request on this is that the YGS threshold be abolished for children of this kind. We look for support from state officials so that they may be admitted directly through aptitude examinations.”
Explaining that Yunus can perceive every sound in nature in terms of notes, Yazar said: “When you strike a glass or a plate, Yunus can name the note of the sound produced straight away. That is the kind of ear it is. It is an ear found in renowned figures of classical music too. Artists such as Mozart and Bach were also people with absolute pitch. But having this gift is not enough. It must be developed and pursued. And we try to pursue it as far as we can.”
“What happens if I am not here?”
Yazar said that with Yunus's diagnosis of autism he came to understand the families of children with disabilities better, and added:
“There is a dependency. I must stay right behind my child. They do not have a normal social life like other children. They cannot go somewhere and come back. I am always thinking about this. How far, how can I manage, what happens if I am not here? Inevitably a person thinks about these things.
When the diagnosis of ‘Asperger's Syndrome' was made, I was better able to understand families with a child in my son's situation. These children need to be discovered — there may be other, different talents too — and those talents need to be pursued. Because I believe very valuable people will be raised. I consider it right for the state to make a more distinct, special effort on this matter.”
“I take great pleasure in listening to my son”
Stressing that they face financial difficulties and have not been able to do anything “special” for their child, who has a special condition, Yazar said: “We have no activities that would enable him to enter a more social environment. I have to work constantly. My wife has health problems too. Financially we cannot be very productive for our child.
Explaining that Yunus's piano playing makes him very happy, Yazar said he takes great pleasure in listening to his son. Yazar said that since turning to music, Yunus's agitated behaviour has decreased and he has begun to express himself better.