ASD
As a father, all you want is to be seen as a source of comfort and love for your kids. This piece, however, represents how I felt my son viewed me. The lack of connection was very hard for me. I had to discover ways to be part of his world to connect with him.
[44"x 30" Pastel and Charcoal.] A phrase I have heard over and over to describe my son who has autism. In this piece there are two images: one in the background which is a fragmented, incomplete image of someone being attacked, and the other is my son in full color and in focus. The viewer naturally "ignores" what is happening in the background. We take for granted the amount of information our brains can collect at once (in essence, in full color and focused). When my son is focused on something it is as if the rest of the world is grey and blurry. A person with autism is not ignoring you. We have to try our best to be part of their world.
40 x 26 Charcoal. This piece represents how I felt my son viewed me. It was hard for me to connect with him in the begin. As a father all you want is to be that person of comfort and love for your kids. This disconnect was very hard for me. I worked hard to find that connection and be part of his world.
Autism in our house means: Giggles and "squeezes", frustration and tears. It means strangers giving looks, and even closest friends not quite understanding. It means long sleeve shirts have to touch the bottom of the thumb and "practicing" wearing summer attire. It means being afraid to take him to the store alone and being the parent that goes on the playscape holding their child's hand. It means shapes, colors, music, and superheros. It means struggling to figure out what is wrong at 2:00 am. It means an intelligent, unique, silly, little boy and a house full of love.
Represents a meltdown. The three images are the progress of an episode. A meltdown can come at any moment. We don't always know what set him off, it can be anything from listing words or counting, to saying something in a particular tone. All we can do to snap him back is hold him and wait.
20'x30' Pastel on paper. Part of my ASD project, This piece is about my son's relationship with his sister. My daughter Raya is full energy and is always in your face. Esme often seemed to be overwhelmed and threatened by this glaring, radiant personality. Today he embraces her energy.