me, us

For the last five years, I have been a disability support worker for Sonny; a charming, funny, and friendly 17-year-old boy.  Our client/support worker relationship has evolved into a friendship. Twice weekly I pick Sonny up from school, we watch and wave to the school buses when they leave, walk to get the bus to his house, smelling flowers and stopping and greeting those we meet along the way. We prepare Sonny’s snack, then either watch a movie, dance to Youtube videos on his iPad, or take photographs. Once a week I prepare his breakfast, we eat and brush our teeth together, I help him get dressed and walk him to school. On holidays we’ll occasionally go to the movies, catch a train to the beach or city and visit the NGV. Receiving my ADHD Autism diagnosis last year gave me an explanation for why I am the way I am. With Sonny, I can unmask. We can sit in comfortable silence, I can stim without judgement, and I do not experience the anxiety that I feel in most other circumstances.  This year, I bought Sonny a basic point and shoot digital camera. I brought our cameras to all my shifts with him, and allowed him to guide the photographs he takes, as well as offer suggestions.  The result of the images that we have taken together is a collaborative photobook titled “me, us”. Developed over two four-month periods when Sonny was 16 and 17, images are sequenced to reflect the routine nature of our interactions. The book shows glimpses of Sonny’s house, us in the world, our engagement with nature, and back home again. The cover illustration was created by photographing Sonny’s camera, which Sonny traced, and I scanned. Colours used for the text and cover are a reference to Sonny’s school uniform.  Me, us celebrates incremental growth, friendship, routine, and being more than our labels. *Images shown are a selection of those included in the book.