I love photography and I'm passionate about causes surrounding Autism. When you put the two together, I'm just happy. I love when I can do something for a cause I care so deeply about, that is something that is uniquely needed, and that my gifts can provide. When that combo comes together I'm thrilled. I'm there. Sign me up!
Recently I did a shoot for Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center's (SARRC) quarterly publication "Outreach." I had the pleasure of meeting Yeou-Luen, a 41-year-old man who moved from Taiwan to the US when he was 25 and proceeded to get his master's degree from ASU in Computer Science. Yeou-Luen has Autism. He's not the face of Autism that I'm used to seeing but he is an example of hope for those living with this still-mysterious disorder. Yeou-Luen is such a nice man--extremely smart and articulate--and he put up with me invading his tiny work-space at Kolbe Corporation where he works as a software tester and repeatedly flashing him with my soft-box to get these images for his feature in the Spring issue of Outreach Magazine. I just received the issue in the mail last week and it was fun to see how it came together!
Recently I did a shoot for Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center's (SARRC) quarterly publication "Outreach." I had the pleasure of meeting Yeou-Luen, a 41-year-old man who moved from Taiwan to the US when he was 25 and proceeded to get his master's degree from ASU in Computer Science. Yeou-Luen has Autism. He's not the face of Autism that I'm used to seeing but he is an example of hope for those living with this still-mysterious disorder. Yeou-Luen is such a nice man--extremely smart and articulate--and he put up with me invading his tiny work-space at Kolbe Corporation where he works as a software tester and repeatedly flashing him with my soft-box to get these images for his feature in the Spring issue of Outreach Magazine. I just received the issue in the mail last week and it was fun to see how it came together!
Currently 90% of adults with Autism in the US are unemployed or under-employed. Only 3% have independent-living skills and less than 1% get married. As the 1 in 150 children who are born today with Autism grow into adulthood, these are going to be staggering numbers for our nation to deal with. It's great to see examples like Yeou-Luen and the services that SARRC provides to help individuals with Autism find meaningful employment. Such a great story! And I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of telling it through the powerful medium of photography.
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