Photographer Sara Dunn talks to SEN Magazine about her ongoing project to record the autistic experience
In October 2013, autism mum Sara Dunn set out to photograph the every-day lives of families living with autism. Spending time staying with families, Sara sought to create a visual record which engages with and challenges the myths surrounding autism by photographing the experiences of those it affects the most.
A work in progress, Admiring Autism has already involved families from across the North-West and Midlands, while attracting media coverage from the likes of the BBC. A selection of photographs from Admiring Autism can be seen on these pages and, at the end of the project, Sara plans an open exhibition dedicated to all the families who have taken part.
Here, Sara talks to SEN Magazine about how the project started and what she hopes it will achieve.
What was your inspiration for the project?
Admiring Autism all began with my son Frank. We first realised Frank had autism at the tender age of 14 months but we had no true insight into just how this would affect him. At the age of 23 months, Frank was diagnosed with autism and sensory processing disorder – the consultant told us that he was her youngest patient to ever have been given this diagnosis. I pondered what this meant for Frank.
I experienced some of the discrimination we’d have to face very early on; Frankie was having an horrific meltdown at the age of 20 months old. He would not tolerate touch, was head banging and hitting me and himself – and we were out in public. After struggling for half an hour to get from point A to point B I finally called my dad, crying on the phone “please come and get us; I can’t move; Frank is in a very bad way”. A woman came up to me and at first I thought, thank goodness someone is here to help. Then she said: “How about you try hanging up the phone, you disgusting mother”.
This in turn triggered my own meltdown and the loss of my job and, amazingly, I loved Frank more than I ever had. I picked up my camera. I began to photograph the good and, yes, the bad days too. A year ago the mysterious woman who approached me made my blood boil and my head pound with anger. But today, I thank her. Her ignorance and callousness towards myself and my son, acted as the catalyst to start Admiring Autism. I wanted to photograph other families. I wanted to show people what autism can and does look like, but mostly I wanted to try and visualise the spectrum and put faces to the names, in the hope that myths and taboos surrounding autism would be diluted. And I am still on that journey.
In your experience, what are the biggest challenges facing families with an autistic child?
I think most of the families that I’ve visited are in the same boat; a lot of us feel socially excluded and rather isolated. Many of us do not get to have a drink in a coffee shop or a successful meal as a family in a restaurant, as the experience is often too much for children with autism. That doesn’t stop us trying of course.
The hardest thing for me personally on these outings is the way in which a small but vocal minority of the public can react – “tutting” very loudly, shaking their heads and even approaching you to let you know that you’re “causing a scene”; it’s all very unwelcome and I really do not appreciate it. It doesn’t help me or my son. I think that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
But, for every bad public experience, all the families have agreed that there are at least two more good ones to make up for it. People are really starting to think about autism a little more – and their kindness and compassion (not pity, but compassion) does shine through and make a huge difference to our days out.
How have the families you’ve visited responded to your project?
The families are incredible – a true inspiration. I’m in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome myself and the families have embraced me and the project whole-heartedly. I don’t even see Admiring Autism as “my” project anymore; I see it as “ours”, because without them, it wouldn’t be where it is now.
When I stay with them, I often leave in awe. It can be a bit like looking in a mirror and seeing your own fears and triumphs reflected in their smiles and sorrow. Thanks to these wonderful families, I don’t feel so alone and I don’t feel so isolated. For them to open up their doors and welcome me into their home – to allow me to capture the struggles and intimacy of caring for a child with autism – is amazing; it’s what makes this project unique. And I really do believe that the general public will respect what these families are doing: paving the way for their children, trying to break down the harmful myths and barriers that surround the complex world of autism.
What can photography reveal about the autistic experience that other media can’t?
I’m an extremely visual person and I really do think that seeing is believing. One of the most exasperating factors for me when I learnt of Frank’s autism was that I couldn’t see other peoples’ experiences of autism. There are blogs upon blogs, medical notes and analytical readings on autism, but where was my visual aid? I couldn’t find one. So I started one.
From the beginning of the project, I was very clear to all of the participating families that my visit with them was not a one-off photo shoot. I never wanted just to go into their homes, take a picture and leave, because that’s not representing what life is like for these families. I stay with the families for a 48-hour period in an attempt to capture an honest, around-the-clock representation of their experiences of autism.
I want the UK public to see autism, to visualise it and to appreciate the condition’s severity, as well as the ingenuity it gives rise to. I want to do this by placing members of this too often excluded community at the centre of artistic expression. I believe that photography is the perfect platform to do just this.
Further information
You can follow Admiring Autism, see photographs from the project and post your own, at:
www.admiringautism.co.uk
Author: Sara Dunn
