Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism

Dates

2014 - Ongoing
Author

Mary Berridge
Topics Portrait, Social Issues, Documentary
Location United States, United States

I have been photographing people on the autism spectrum and pairing the photographs with text written by the subjects, their parents or me.

Visible Spectrum: Portraits from the World of Autism

I have been immersed in the world of autism since my son was diagnosed with Aspergers.

While autism can present herculean challenges for some, many people with autism have remarkable strengths. Singular figures from history who were likely on the autism spectrum include Michelangelo, Newton, Mozart, Austen, Kant, Darwin, Turing, Einstein, Emily Dickinson, Wittgenstein and Warhol. Temple Grandin was only half joking when she said that without autism, humans would still be “standing around in a cave, chatting and socializing and not getting anything done”.

One salient trait these groundbreakers shared (on top of intense passion and focus), was seeing the world in a new way; they were the epitome of “out of the box thinkers.” A potential downside of seeing things differently from most people is confusion and anxiety resulting from not understanding others’ motivations (autism being partially a social communication disorder). The most popular website by and for the autism community is called wrongplanet.net.

Most people with autism are not great geniuses. But each looks at the world in a unique way, often refreshing in its originality and lack of pretense. We need to better understand the autistic, not only to make the world a kinder place for them, but to broaden our own perspectives.

By engaging the viewer with visually compelling and emotionally nuanced portraits, I hope to draw them into the the subjects’ worlds. The photographs will be accompanied by text written by the subjects, their parents or me, distilled in brief for exhibit walls, rendered longer in book form. The project will widen and deepen our experience of autism, and by extension, our experience of difference. Most importantly, it will help dispel common misperceptions that reinforce stigmas and obscure the strengths of so many on the autism spectrum.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Elise at the Jordan Lake School of the Arts/ Elise goes to a school where most of the students have autism. The classrooms are sparsely decorated in order to minimize visual distractions. During art class Elise commented “we may not be capable of everything but we are capable of seeing beauty.”

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Newton/ Strangers are often compelled to touch Newton’s luxurious red curls. As this causes him great anxiety, he reacts by becoming a chicken (chickens are a special interest of his), squawking and flapping his arms. This can have the desired effect of getting rid of people quickly.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Graham wrestling with his cousin/ It‘s amazing to me that my son Graham looks so faraway and pensive in the midst of tumultuous wrestling. He says he was likely contemplating his next move. The idea that people with autism don’t like to interact with others is a myth. Most enjoy interacting with people they know well.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Mia with mattock/ From an early age, Mia has been comforted by the feel of rubber and fur. She calls this her “life suit”, which she wears to protect her “when life gets to be too much”. Her other great comfort is what she calls “mining”. She spends her ten minute breaks at school digging a small hole, which she then fills back in. Swinging the heavy mattock gives her sensory and muscular input that grounds and calms her. In addition to liking geology and skateboarding, she wants to be a model and a scientist- the kind that wears a hazmaz suit. Her parents moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina to find a school that understood her.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Evan and Eric at the dance/ Twins Evan and Eric spent their first dance mingling somewhat on the outskirts of the crowd, with occasional pit stops in the fireplace. Their mother, who was thrilled that they chose to go to a dance with other teens, writes “I am beyond proud that my boys know how to calm themselves. I hope that next time, they choose to dance. I want them to dance. I yearn for the day I that I can dance at their wedding(s). But I accept this for now, as this is where they are. I choose to meet them there. And to slowly, carefully, with as much love as I can muster, draw them out, bit by bit, until they can meet me at least halfway.”

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Leah (whose brother Joshua is also on the autism spectrum)/ From their mother: "I want people to know that Joshua and Leah are exactly who they are meant to be. I do not believe that being autistic has taken anything away or changed them from some other “version” of themselves. Autism is a normal hereditary variation. Focusing on 'a cure' or 'a cause' detracts from acceptance and accommodation. I've explained to Joshua in detail, and to Leah in more general descriptions for her age, what it means to be autistic, and how that's different than being neurotypical, as well as what the two neurotypes have in common. We have lots of friends, and a few family members, that are autistic, and lots of friends and family members that are neurotypical, and we love them all. We've talked about the strengths that come with both autism and neurotypicality, as well as the challenges. I want to be sure that my children know that I love and value them fully, and that I am always here to encourage, support, and advocate for them.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Josh with his caregiver Sarah/ Josh has a serious seizure disorder in addition to autism (epilepsy is more common for autistics than for neurotypicals). In Josh’s case, he has seizures almost everyday. He wears a harness held by a caregiver, in case he falls over. Mostly non-verbal, he communicates with pictures on an ipad. He is a good student, aceing math and science tests. Contrary to the myth that autistics are not affectionate, he loves to cuddle.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Grayson with his sister/ From Grayson's mother: "The initial diagnosis at age 2.5 felt like a punch in the face. Someone just crushed "my" hopes and dreams for my son. With time, lots of therapy (for him and me!), we've come to fully accept and even sometimes appreciate it. At first I wondered if my son would ever have a girlfriend (or boyfriend), love someone, have a sexual relationship (thank a poster at TEACCH for that one), get married, have kids, go to college. Although none of those things is a guarantee for anyone, I felt that someone had taken them all away from me in one fell swoop. Over the last 3.5 years, I've come to see that every single one of those things is a possibility, and watched my toddler grow into a little boy. I feel lucky each and every day that he is mine. I feel lucky that he speaks well, loves to be around people, has responded well to therapy, and most of all that he expresses his love for me and others through words, gestures, and kindness. We spent $20K out of pocket on therapy last year. What do parents that don't have the same means do? Do they have the same outcomes? How does our public health system allow this?"

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Sadie at the Jordan Lake School for the Arts/ From Sadie's mother: "For me, one of the gifts of Sadie's autism is that at 13 she still loves her mom and she would rather spend time with me than almost anyone else. We go on long walks where Sadie chatters away telling me about some video game or movie she read about. Sometimes I say "yes, you've already told me about this a couple of times" but mostly I just enjoy the fact that when we are together she is happy and confident. I find her to be a charming, unique individual who has a good heart and I enjoy her company. I will probably get to enjoy her company for longer than a typical teen/young adult and for that I am grateful."

© Mary Berridge - Mia with fur

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Mia with fur

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Will/ Will is a student at the University of North Carolina, where he is majoring in political science with a concentration in Russia and Eastern Europe. Like many people on the autism spectrum, he is highly ethical. “I think autism has benefited me the most in that it has contributed to my thirst for knowledge, which has left me able to talk about many different areas of politics, history and entertainment. Now, many people therefore assume I’m very smart because I know much about subjects. I couldn’t disagree more, because to me there’s a big difference between knowing a lot about a particular subject and being able to use that knowledge in a way that’s useful to the world around them. So far, I’ve had trouble doing that.”

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Graham at the Louvre/ Graham preferred the military history museum, as that is one of his special interests. In kindergarten he could tell you what happened in every battle of the Revolutionary War, including how many soldiers were killed and wounded per battle on each side. At 13, he was considered a world expert on Game of Thrones (on the question and answer website Quora). This is remarkable considering he doesn’t watch the show or read the books. He prefers to read about them. His reaction to this picture: "I want to know why that guy did not get seriously injured from holding multiple sword blades."

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Abbey (on left) with her caretaker Blair/ From Abbey's mother, "Blair has been Abbey's CAP worker for 2 years. They have an amazing relationship. Blair has become family to us. She has shown Abbey why it's so important for a teenage girl to have a friend. Every Tuesday they do a mani/pedi at our kitchen table. This is huge!!! Abbey use to fight us tooth and nail to clip her nails. She has also taught her to love shopping. ....clothes shopping use to be another nightmare. They also have ventured into highlighting Abbey's hair. It's so wonderful to watch Abbey experience teenage girl things. She can't wait for the days that Blair comes to work!"

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Adam/ Adam is 6 feet tall, non-verbal and developmentally mostly on a toddler level. His family had to move away to a different state due to the lack of support services for adults with autism. This is becoming an enormous problem across the country as the first large generation of children diagnosed with autism are growing up and aging out of school services. Adam's mother says she used to be embarrassed by his impromptu dance parties in the frozen food aisle, but now that is one of her favorite things about him.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Graham with his sister on the dam/ Travel is often very difficult for people on the autism spectrum, due to anxiety caused by new places, experiences and people. Graham’s ability to travel is improving with age, but here he seemed overwhelmed by the height and scale of the vista. Many people with autism simply don’t always enjoy things that neurotypical people take for granted as pleasurable experiences. Conversely, they often find immense pleasure in things that neurotypicals would not necessarily appreciate.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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John at the Jordan Lake School for the Arts/ John is mostly non verbal but on the rare occasions that he speaks he can be very affecting. "What an opp-or-tun-i-ty", he said as we headed out to take photos for a class workshop. When his mother was despairing at the difficulty of opening a school for students with learning differences he told her "You just have to believe, mommy".

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Tristan with his twin sister/ Tristan's public school did not have the expertise to handle the challenging behaviors that were symptoms of his anxiety, sensory sensitivities and difficulties with communication. His family was fortunate to find a nonprofit private school for children with autism. Very few of these schools exist.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Graham at the hotel/ Graham is a voracious reader. Since he was seven years old, his favorite magazine has been the Economist. He also especially likes Mad magazine, Nutrition Action and the American Civil Liberties Union Newsletter.

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Simon with his mom/ From his mom: "Simon has normal intelligence and can have conversations with people, but his favorite activity is telling people stories. The official term for this is “scripting”. It calms him and makes him very happy. Simon loves to read books to us and change the characters so that he is the main character and other people he knows are part of the adventure. He periodically wants feedback from his listeners and he has trained our family to respond as he desires. It’s always funny to me when he uses terms from his social skills classes to demand my attention while telling stories. “No phones Mom! Whole body listening!” I’m very happy that Simon has a rich world of books and imagination to retreat into. I know our neurotypical world can be tough for him and it is reassuring to me that he has such a positive escape. Simon will always be having exciting adventures, traveling the world and being a hero with his stories."

© Mary Berridge - Image from the Visible Spectrum:Portraits from the world of Autism photography project

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Remington/ Remington is a recent college graduate who is a trainee in the University of North Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities program for leadership in self-advocacy. There is growing and overdue recognition that many people with autism can and should be in positions of leadership in the field of autism (and elsewhere). Those who are trained in the program train those who come after them. He is a passionate musician who says that autism has augmented his “ability to be creative and stay focussed”.

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