Amy's Awesome Photos

Autism Awareness

I work at a school specially designed for children with autism. The autism spectrum is very wide, there are high functioning and low functioning. No kid is exactly the same. There is a saying that goes “If you know one child with autism you know one child with autism. They are unique, loving and honest. Although every child with autism is very different, they all have some of the same characteristics. I would like to photograph children with autism and show some of the unique characteristics they have, along with the similar characteristics that children with autism share. Most of the children I work with do not talk. This is frustrating for them and me. I want to give them a voice through photography. The children often use photographs to talk to me. When they are hungry they will give me a photo of lunch with the word lunch on it. If they want to go to the gym and they cannot voice it, they will find a photo of the gym and hand it to me. I would like to take photographs and speak to others and show others about them and tell their story. Children with autism are trapped in a body that does not work the way they want it to. Depending where they are at on the spectrum sometimes they have a big heart and big ideas, but they cannot express them or they do not know how. Autism awareness is important to me. Photographs of children with autism will help increase awareness of autism, what it is, and how we can react to it.