San Francisco CAL – Photographer Timothy Archibald has catalogued his son Elijah’s first five years in a series of photographs on his website.
The project called Echolalia, named after autistic children’s behavioural trait of repeating words and phrases, was inspired by 12 year old Elijah’s journey with autism. They have been said to capture autism in a way that word can’t.
Archibald explained that back in 2010 people weren’t supportive of Echolalia, as the majority of people thought he was exploiting his son. He said that looking at the photos of Elijah made people feel uncomfortable.
Elijah travels with his father to promote and talk about the photographic project. Last year in Atlanta, an audience member had asked Elijah what it felt like to be autistic.
According to Archibald who was interviewed by ABC News, Elijah answered:
‘I don’t think I could tell you what it feels like to be autistic. To me, it feels normal. This is all I know.This is normal.