Many of my clients know my son's story from chatting during our photo sessions, but for those that don't... As a former educator with experience in both gifted education and special education, I thought I was ready for everything and anything. And then I had Tanner. Tanner was born with a congenital birth defect called malrotation of the intestines. He almost died when he was 4 days old, but thanks to amazing surgeons and the grace of God, he pulled through. We thought the tough times were behind us. But, by 18 months when his pediatrician referred him to a specialist due to "red flags for Autism," we knew there was more to come. Over the next several years, we found that despite being incredibly gifted academically, Tanner struggled with appropriate behaviors, attention, eating, sensory processing, social/communication skills and motor skills. We spent a great deal of time during the preschool years shuffling between physical therapy, occupational therapy, feeding therapy and social skills therapy. Although Tanner was never diagnosed as having Autism or one of the associated Autistic Spectrum Disorders, we were told numerous times by different evaluators that he struggled with a lot of the same types of issues. While I still worry about Tanner and how he will tackle each future challenge, today he's an A/B honor roll student in middle school, with aspirations of being an engineer, a drummer in a rock band or an NHL player. Haha! He has many friends, plays sports, participates in extra-curricular activities and, though he still has some struggles, for the most part he is a typical 11 year old boy!
Most people that meet Tanner have no idea that he ever had any issues or difficulties at all. I believe Early Intervention was Key, as has been the on-going support he's gotten at home and through the school system! During his early years I spent a lot of time reading, talking to specialists and researching, but in the end I realized that Tanner doesn't just march to the beat of his own drum, he simply hears violins instead. That realization was life changing for ME. I often tell this story to other parents as they are fretting over their own children because I think it's important to know that we are not alone.
With that said, I was so honored last week when asked to take part in an Autism awareness project called Stories of Autism. Stories of Autism is a non-profit organization focused on Autism awareness and projects which can be used to educate and raise funds for various Autism related groups. My task is to photograph one (or more) children who have an Autism diagnosis and to present one photo per session, along with that child's story, to the Stories of Autism organization (Identifying information, such as last name, will be kept confidential.) The photos and stories will be used on-line and in other forms of media to generate awareness. Therefore, I am searching for subjects with an Autism diagnosis to photograph. Chosen subjects will receive a complimentary session, along with an 8x10 print of your choice as a thank you. Of course, any images taken during the session will be available for purchase at a sizeable discount, but additional purchases are not necessary or required.
If you have a child with Autism and would like to assist with this project, please contact me as soon as possible and I will provide additional information for you to view prior to making any decisions or commitments. I must turn in the photos by the end of March and have limited spaces available, so the sooner I hear from you, the better!. Also, feel free to forward this information to anyone who may be interested. It will be a blessing if my work can help even one person.
My Beautiful Tanner....
