Ed is a friend of the family who recently became homeless after his stepfather died last year. Ed lived with my parents for a while during this past winter. We are certain Ed has some mental and social/communication issues, but he is a harmless person. He is very quiet and we all came to suspect he is a high functioning autistic adult who had never been diagnosed. From what we can gather he was also abused by his mother at a young age. He has never worked nor would he really be able to. I am not even sure that he understands the situation he is in - he sort of has friends and people he knows and he will just show up for a 'visit' and wanders around town this way. He is not hard to find and many family members drive around between YSU campus the hospital and the rescue mission to spot Ed walking and give him food or money. My parents can no longer let him stay at their home, but he does stop occasionally for food and a shower. We have tried everything to find him programs or anything to get him help for his situation. Everything is a dead end. He is not a drunk, a drug addict, nor is he insane. He is actually quite intelligent when you get him talking and or if he talks about chess moves.
When I started thinking of what I could do for a project that shows a compelling life issue I thought of Ed and his situation and how he has fallen through the cracks. Autism is big news today and everyone (including myself) immediately thinks of young children when the subject comes up. I began to wonder about these children as the grow up and what eventually becomes of them. It is a sad statistic that many fall out of the system and no longer recieve any government help after turning eighteen, and even worse, a very high percentage of autistic children end up on the streets. These are very powerful images to me because i have a two year old son and the thought of him being homeless is unimaginable and devastating. My son shows no signs of being autistic and in fact displays the total opposite personallity of a very bright, communicative, and interactive toddler. I thank god or whatever it is that is greater than myself everyday for the blessing of having a perfect son. Anyway this project is a story series. First the subject is presented, then my son with little people lined up and portrayed as the autistic child. Next I skip to Ed, and finally the little people toys again that represent those individuals that just 'fall through the cracks'.
When I started thinking of what I could do for a project that shows a compelling life issue I thought of Ed and his situation and how he has fallen through the cracks. Autism is big news today and everyone (including myself) immediately thinks of young children when the subject comes up. I began to wonder about these children as the grow up and what eventually becomes of them. It is a sad statistic that many fall out of the system and no longer recieve any government help after turning eighteen, and even worse, a very high percentage of autistic children end up on the streets. These are very powerful images to me because i have a two year old son and the thought of him being homeless is unimaginable and devastating. My son shows no signs of being autistic and in fact displays the total opposite personallity of a very bright, communicative, and interactive toddler. I thank god or whatever it is that is greater than myself everyday for the blessing of having a perfect son. Anyway this project is a story series. First the subject is presented, then my son with little people lined up and portrayed as the autistic child. Next I skip to Ed, and finally the little people toys again that represent those individuals that just 'fall through the cracks'.
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