Autism: Life in Colour 2013

Autism: Life in Colour 2013 invited autistic people to submit two photographs or video clips, taken on April 2^nd 2013, World Autism Awareness Day.

The purpose was to provide a visual representation of what life is like for autistic people throughout Scotland and participants were asked to submit two photos or video clips to capture :

What’s the best thing about today?

What’s the worst thing about today?

The project was originally linked to the Scottish Government’s Autism Mapping project

The 12 best pairs of pictures were included as part of an exhibition which toured Scotland during 2013 (Edinburgh, Perth, Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow).

What's the worst thing about today?

Erik works well with staff to complete daily housework tasks but would rather be doing construction!

What's the best thing about today?

Erik's favourite part of his day usually involves making objects and playing with construction. Erik enjoys to do this on his own and also with staff.

What's the worst thing about today?

Sensory overload. There are lots of people making lots of noise and I'm getting tired and hungry.

What's the best thing about today?

Waiting at the station with my sister on the way to Edinburgh for a day out. I'm excited to go on the train.

What's the worst thing about today?

When it started to snow I was worried I might not be able to get out in my car as this is one of the activities I really enjoy.

What's the best thing about today?

I enjoyed going to visit one of my support workers dogs called Kayleigh, I like to spend time with her and take her for walks.

What's the worst thing about today?

My shed in my garden is where I enjoy going for a cup of tea, when I seen the bad weather it made me not want to go out as it was cold and wet, I didn't like this.

What's the best thing about today?

I enjoy going for a pint of lager in the pub and having a packet of salt and vinegar crisps. this was the best part of my day as this is where I feel most relaxed.

What's the worst thing about today?

My sister often plays loud pop music, and it irritates me to bits. I do love her, but we really can't agree on musical tastes!

What's the best thing about today?

This is my piano, and I spend a lot of time practising on it. I recently passed Grade 8 Piano with distinction, so simply seeing it makes me happy.

What's the worst thing about today?

Waiting for people to turn up. So stressful, my anxiety levels where so high I had to find a quiet space to meditate.

What's the best thing about today?

Invited to do a talk in Goa about sensory issues. Wonderful to see so many people turn up in blue. The tv and papers also turned up.

What's the worst thing about today?

Crying and not being able to tell mum what's wrong makes mum unhappy!!!!!!!

What's the best thing about today?

Me on my bike with wee brother Sam makes me smile.

What's the worst thing about today?

Ewan does not like his photo taken but wanted to raise his concerns about 'Junk food'. He managed to find this image on the internet visually warning against Macdonalds fast food. He likes rules like this although does not really understand nutrition.

What's the best thing about today?

Ewan is 18yrs old and loves his food. He is severely learning disabled as well as autistic but he took this picture himself. It is his fish and chips on 2.04.13 at the Brewhouse Arbroath.

What's the worst thing about today?

Nikki couldn't really choose a worst thing in her day but maybe the walk to the gym was the least favourite.

What's the best thing about today?

Nikki took a few photos but liked this one of the excercise balls at the gym best. She liked the colours and shapes.

What's the worst thing about today?

Alex does not like to wait.

What's the best thing about today?

This is Alex's sensory ball blanket. He loves to relax with this after a busy day.

What's the worst thing about today?

Too many choices and unhappy about being in this place. Trying to get away to zone out but my little sister is in my personal space and stressing me out.

What's the best thing about today?

Relaxing, having a quiet snack after a noisy and busy hour having fun playing in a nearby softplay centre. It's nice to have some downtime before the shopping to come.

What's the worst thing about today?

Still people will not understand us and that makes me sad

What's the best thing about today?

A picture of Owen holding an image of the Empire State Building lit up blue for Autism Awareness Day. 'Buildings all around the world turned blue to support us'

What's the worst thing about today?

This was a picture of a building during the sponsored walk, it is the worse thing because the photo is blurry and it had yellow in the picture which is one of my least favourite colours. Also I do not like blurry photos.

What's the best thing about today?

This was the most blue lit building we seen during the sponsored walk. It was the best thing of the day as blue is my favourite colour.

What's the worst thing about today?

I hate hoovering!

What's the best thing about today?

My friend, Robert, came for dinner.

What's the worst thing about today?

Shower time! I like warm, hot showers but I do NOT like shampoo getting into my eyes!!!

What's the best thing about today?

On our way into town, it was school holidays, and the treat was a doughnut! And I ate it - an easy job to do!! I love food.

What's the worst thing about today?

My son Luke aged 16 years 'waiting by the cafe doors while Mum has a coffee'

What's the best thing about today?

My son Luke aged 16 years with his Dad 'enjoying a walk by the sea, listening to the seagulls'

What's the worst thing about today?

The four bars at the start of this sign appears, initially, as ?I'll? to my Aspergers' eye. It is sad that this visual anomaly was noticed / changed beforehand.

What's the best thing about today?

Glasgow awakes to a sunny day! Good weather makes everybody happy and sets the tone for the day - while the weather lasts...

What's the worst thing about today?

Photo of me alone in my room. Sometimes it gets really lonely being on your own most of the time.

What's the best thing about today?

Photo of me sitting underneath my artwork for the 'You, me and ASD' exhibition at Project Ability. Hated being photographed, but I was pleased to be helping promote autism awareness.

What's the worst thing about today?

Scary ingredients! Ania found really difficult and stressful finding in the shop all the ingredients for her lush cake, but it was worth it!

What's the best thing about today?

Ania and Karpatka :) Ania really enjoys baking, sharing and eating deliciously creamy polish cake called Karpatka, why it's the best thing of the day? Try yourself!

What's the worst thing about today?

My CD and DVD collection is filed perfectly by A to Z. If someone takes something they know they must put it back correctly. Today someone messed them all up.

What's the best thing about today?

I love the ducks on the canal and often feed them. Today they were in a very unusual place and they looked funny up there.

What's the worst thing about today?

The worst thing about today is this dreary looking wall. I don't like this because it is grey, hideous and boring!

What's the best thing about today?

I like seeing the lights indoors. All the different lights interest me because it makes a curious atmosphere.

What's the worst thing about today?

The Worst thing about today is seeing signs like this saying 'path closed' as it makes you disappointed because you may want to see parts of Edinburgh like the Scott Monument. It also causes chaos when you can't go the way you want to go. This makes me unhappy and a bit downbeat, but on a brighter note it will be open at another date!

What's the best thing about today?

The Best Thing about today is going into princes street gardens and seeing the beautiful flowers blossom in the spring. This makes me feel happy and cheery as I like flowers.

What's the worst thing about today?

The worst thing of my day is missing the bus at lunchtime!

What's the best thing about today?

The best thing is the tree outside because it's very nice to see trees growing and looking green and clean.

What's the best and worst thing about today?

The group chat about their days and the project.

What's the worst thing about today?

This is me getting up in the morning. Somedays, I feel a bit awful when getting up and just want go back to sleep again.

What's the best thing about today?

This is me playing an xbox video game with my sister. This is something I really enjoy doing, and even more so with a family member.

What's the best thing about today?

Helping in my be-friender's garden makes me happy.

What's the best thing about today?

I enjoy Shopping for the paper.

What's the best thing about today?

The best thing today is helping to decorate my home.

What's the best thing about today?

Today I enjoyed Lunch.

What's the best thing about today?

The best thing today is a Cafe visit.

What's the best thing about today?

The best thing about today is at my day service.

What's the best thing about today?

The Highlight of today is Going to buy a new book.

What's the best thing about today?

The best thing about today is a walk in the park.

What's the best thing about today?

I enjoy Drawing in the art studio.

What's the worst thing about today?

I'm narrating a popular book for fans and blind people as there is no audio book or braille edition, but it is taking me a long time and I'm getting negative feedback.

What's the best thing about today?

The highlight of my week is attending my drama club and seeing my friends, we all have lots of fun together. Ideally I'd like to make acting my career.