Father Photographs Autistic Son"s Daily Quirky Habits

There is still so much about autism that we don’t understand and even more that we are still learning about it. Though we try to explain it, there are some things that just won’t make sense to us. 

To connect with his son more and try to see the world through his eyes, one father started photographing the quirks and habits of his son even before he was diagnosed with autism. 

What started as something for his own understanding and a bonding experience within his family has ended up showing others what autism can look like and just how beautiful and unique it can be.

Photographer Timothy Archibald’s oldest son, Elijah, was born in 2001.

When he turned five, the two started taking photographs together with Elijah as the model.

It started as a way to better understand each other.

Not long after they started taking the photos, Elijah was diagnosed on the autistic spectrum.

This helped Timothy understand his son’s behavior more, but he still wanted to learn how to connect emotionally with him.

He named the series of photos “Echolilia,” which is another way of spelling “echolalia.”

Echolalia is used to describe verbal repetition and copying found in children with autism.