Heading

Add a sentence of overlay text to your image

Sonya's Journey

 

Sonya is a 9-year-old girl born and raised in Bali, Indonesia. Her diagnosis is Global Developmental Delay. She faces challenges in many areas, including physical abilities, adaptive behaviour, social emotional skills, cognitive functions, and communication.

Since she was 18 months old, Sonya has been supported through various therapies, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, neuropsychology, speech therapy, play therapy, and art therapy.

Painting has become her joyful outlet, a way to express how she sees and feels the world around her. Her creations are full of color, emotion, and imagination.

Sonya's Daily life:  

Sonya attends school daily in a special needs classroom where she receives individualized support and learns at her own pace. Alongside school, she works with a dedicated support therapist who helps her develop life skills, build on academic foundations, and participate in a variety of activities tailored to her needs.

Her afternoons are often filled with extracurriculars that she loves including swimming, gymnastics, horse riding, music, and even boxing. These activities not only support her development, but also give her space to explore, grow in confidence, and simply enjoy being a child.

How Sonya Joye was sparked:

It all began with a small project for Sonya's class, a special needs group of kids preparing to sing at a school assembly. To raise awareness about inclusion and to make the moment even more meaningful, a T-shirt was created featuring the handprints of every child in the class, including Sonya's. It was a symbol of unity, visibility, and pride.

Sonya’s paintings filled with color, feeling, and playful details, spoke in a way words never could. They became the heart of this project, inspiring a collection of T-shirts that celebrate self-expression, individuality, and the beauty of seeing the world differently.

That first T-shirt moment grew into something more: a project that celebrates inclusivity, creativity without rules, individuality without limits, and the quiet power of being seen. Each design remains true to Sonya’s world, joyful, unfiltered, and uniquely her own.