The world in lens of autistic children

Visitors view items on display at the Echoes of Islands exhibition in the Riverside Art Museum in Beijing, Nov 19, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Difficulties in social interaction and communication barriers have been the major problems for those with autism. In an attempt to bring autistic children out of isolation and also to raise public awareness of the disorder, a group of young Chinese invited amateur photographers and autistic children to take photos together. Now their co-created works are on display in Beijing.

The Echoes of Islands exhibition, which opened to the public at the Riverside Art Museum in Beijing on Nov 19, features 291 images jointly created by 33 photographers and 31 autistic children. They were selected from more than 3,000 submissions created in both Beijing and Hangzhou from June to October.

In the four-month period, the photographers, together with another 36 accompanying volunteers, regularly met these children. They played with them and introduced photography to them in order to encourage them to communicate with the outside world.

"These children face communication barriers but photography does not need words," Lei Yuxi, the initiator of the Twinkling Photographer Project (TPP), a charity campaign, told China Daily.

A special virtual reality (VR) zone has also been set up to provide an insight into autistic people's lives. The zone is only open on weekends.

"We are showing a VR video about autism produced by the UK's National Autistic Society. Using special effects, the video enables visitors to experience the visual world of autistic people. It's the first of its kind in the world," said Lei.

"Another highlight is a VR documentary recording lives of Chinese autistic children, which is also the first attempt in China," she added.

The Echoes of Islands exhibition is part of the TPP. In a span of 16 months starting from early 2016 to May 2017, the TPP has organized activities including creations and exhibitions of photos, videos and documentaries, in order to show the inner world of autistic people and also to eliminate discrimination.

While studies have shown that autistic people are better in visual than in verbal communication, the TPP organizer said they are "trying to find out what results would come out if autistic children join hands with photographers."