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There Would Always Be the Spring (30)
jmcl

(656)

Please don’t let the nature of my posts restrict your thoughts in critiquing. One of the reasons I am posting these images here is to work on developing my skills.

I should note that this post is an older image from my beat up old digicam.
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There Would Always Be the Spring

Fern Lake Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park

“You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you dies each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason.”
~ Ernest Hemingway

This is Andrew .. or Bug as he has been known since he was a baby. Andrew loves hugs and tickles. Andrew is my son.

Andrew contends with severe autism. Nothing frightens me more than when I take Andrew to be cared for by somebody and they say “Don’t worry, I’ve dealt with autism before.” You see autism is a “Spectrum Disorder.” Often today it is referred to as “ASD” (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Autism is defined not by its causes but by its symptoms. There are more than a half dozen symptoms. To be diagnosed with ASD an individual must have a certain number of them. Each symptom can be present at any level of severity from near non existent to debilitating. So each individual dealing with autism can be in a very different place of severity and manifest the disorder in very unique ways.

Andrew is on the severe end of the autism spectrum. Andrew’s primary manifestations of autism deal with communication. Andrew is essentially “non verbal.” He can speak a dozen words that he uses on rare occasions. He has learned a few useful sign language symbols. He has recently started using a “Talk Box” with buttons that allow him to request various objects. His “receptive language” (his ability to understand) is much higher.

Andrew deals with a range of other symptoms including: debilitating anxiety (he takes powerful medications to deal with his anxiety); dangerous self injurious behaviors (called SIBs); he can become violent towards others (his most major behavioral leap was to transfer most of his attacks on others to injuring himself - if you call that progress).

Filtering sounds and other stimulus seems difficult for Andrew. He seems unable to place noise into foreground and background layers. Thus every noise in an environment from the hum of a light to each conversation come at him at once. Dealing with our world is very difficult for him.

One of Andrew’s great joys is hiking. He loves being out in the peace of the woods. It is our time together each week. I remember this day well. Spring had finally come to the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains. Andrew’s favorite trail was a vibrant green filtering the morning sun. The river was rushing with the Spring snow melt. Sitting here we were awash in mist and sound. Andrew does seem to enjoy a single overwhelming sound .. like music or the rushing of a Spring river. We reached this place and stopped on this stone and sat with the peace of the rushing water for the rest of the morning.

Altered Image #1

jmcl

(656)
Brightened
Edited by:PierreFrigon

(15465)

Hi John,
With Paint Shop Pro X, I played with shadows, midtones and brightness to see more details. Then added a splash of the clarify tool
Hope you like it
Pierre

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