I need some help with this quote (parents with Autistic children may be good at this)

fly_dragon_fly

Ok so I'm not sure where to put this but I do photography and have been given this quote to photograph "Autism means I won't lead an ordinary life ..... I'll lead an extraordinary life" as the group member has a son with Autism ( and my brother does too) but I'm actually stuck and am not sure how to represent this in a picture, I have til the end of the month to submit it.

I hope this doesn't cause any offense as it's not meant to just would love some advice on what to do, i have a idea but am not sure about it still.

Sambucus_Nigra

Ask your brother? Spend time with him and take lots of images? Maybe of him doing something non-Autistic people don't get to do? Sometimes the simplest things are the extraordinary ones.

fly_dragon_fly

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Ask your brother? Spend time with him and take lots of images? Maybe of him doing something non-Autistic people don't get to do? Sometimes the simplest things are the extraordinary ones.

Sadly my brother is 19 and doesn't like to admit it so he won't talk about it, let alone get a photo of him. ( he doesn't like having his photo sadly)

Nicki

I would photograph your subjects engaged in their favourite activities. In many cases this will be a bit odd - either age inappropriate or just an unusual behaviour - but if lucky you will capture some facial expressions of deep bliss.

Eg one of the kids at my Dd's school relaxes by tapping a stone against his teeth. Lots of kids have other "Stims" which are unusual, eg spinning a wheel of a toy vehicle. Or my DD who is 11 loves to go to the children's playground and play on swings etc even though she's quite a bit older now than other kids there.

ETA I wouldn't worry too much about causing offence if you have other ideas of your own so long as you came up with those with respect in your heart. Having a brother with ASD I imagine you did, and that your own ideas will also be heartfelt.

marisco_2

fly_dragon_fly wrote: »

I do photography and have been given this quote to photograph "Autism means I won't lead an ordinary life ..... I'll lead an extraordinary life" as the group member has a son with Autism ( and my brother does too) but I'm actually stuck and am not sure how to represent this in a picture, I have til the end of the month to submit it.

What are you stuck on exactly? Do you agree with the quote?

Personally I think it is lovely. Autism does not need to be a dark and lonely existence. Some autistic children are very bright and they have a personality to match. No one with a disability should be underestimated, and this goes for those with autism, as much as for any one with any other condition.

As an idea for the composition of your picture may I recommend this. I work at a school as a special needs teacher. At the beginning of term we held a whole school assembly. A couple of points in it really made me think.

On a huge screen there was a picture of a number of famous people throughout history. Each one of them was thought to have had conditions that you may have thought would restrict what they could achieve. Maybe you could have a picture of a current famous person who has autism, that the children could relate to, and have this quote somewhere in the composition.

Another part of the assembly was an ex pupil who came in to speak to the children. He had been a pupil at the school many years ago and had struggled due to suffering with dyslexia. Depsite this he had really applied himself and plodded on. He worked hard through high school. Went on to take A levels then on to university. A year ago he qualified as a teacher himself. It was very inspiring to listen to his story. Could you photograph this quote and then put an inspiring story with it?

Sambucus_Nigra

fly_dragon_fly wrote: »

Sadly my brother is 19 and doesn't like to admit it so he won't talk about it, let alone get a photo of him. ( he doesn't like having his photo sadly)

It doesn't have to be him - I work with Autistic and other interesting kids and always just take photos of their hands doing things...I focus on the hands as they can be so expressive.

Surely this is about your exploration of the topic - not other people's - so it would make sense to explore this from your own perspective.

Or you could talk to your brother about his likes and dislikes and make a collage of all the things that makes his life better or un-ordinary...

Gingham_R

This picture resonates with me on such a deep level I can't even express how much.



The little boy is autistic and has a special interest in lampposts. This was taken from him reaching up towards the light and there is something so hopeful and beautiful and perfect about that.

Don't know if that helps.

Gingham_R

And here he is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdLbkIiHH1k

At the end of the clip you'll see how the image came about.

DVardysShadow

Someone wearing a big cardboard box, head, arms, feet sticking out. Another person decorating that box. Both wearing obviously similar clothing, eg stripy tights, T shirt.

No clues whatsoever as to who is meant to be autistic and who is not.

Nicki

I think we need a bit more context as we have all interpreted the request in different ways.

For example I assumed as you were a photographer that it had to consist of photographs you took yourself, which would probably rule out photos of famous people with autism. I also assumed this was something you'd been commissioned to do, whereas others have assumed it was for a test or club activity. I think it makes a difference whether this is a personal self exploration of what autism means to you not to be used for anything else, or a more general commission intended to illustrate a point that a group wants to make either for an exhibition or a leaflet. I think you will get different answers depending on this.

meritaten

I think I would be using strong imagery - perhaps a head but INSIDE that head I would use images of Sport, Space travel, commerce, flowers, abstract art etc - to show that inside the brain is this limitless universe which humans can access - and inside the autistic brain can be some wondrous things.