boopboopadoopity

Link for all to read!

Current article with Jessye

Link for lazy

You are doing some wonderful stuff here for families. A photo can be so valuable.

My question is a hard question for me to ask and I understand if you don't want to answer. You do photography for illnesses that are terminal. Sadly, there are many illnesses that are terminal. I'm sure you get many requests and I'm sure you get limited funding. If there are too many individuals who would like a session and not enough funding, what is the selection process like?

You also mention on your website doing multiple sessions for people. How does this compile for individuals who are terminal but don't have a specific date of when they might pass or their date is years in the future? Do you continue to photograph them every year, or whenever the family asks, or do you ever have to face the decision of declining a family that has requested multiple photo ops for another more terminal case? The decisions must be incredibly difficult.

Edit: Also, do you ask the person being photographed to provide proof that their illness is terminal?

Genuine question - isn't that book considered controversial? I had been surprised to read about it was contested on if the child actually authored the book - the Wikipedia page states that it was written using exclusively facilitated communication by the parents (the child is completely nonverbal and has not proven an ability to communicate other than facilitated communication)... from the page:

The book alleges that its author, Higashida, learned to communicate using the scientifically discredited techniques of facilitated communication and rapid prompting. Since Higashida lacks a genuine ability to use either written or verbal language, researchers dismiss all claims that Higashida actually wrote the book himself. Psychologist Jens Hellman said that the accounts “resemble what I would deem very close to an autistic child’s parents’ dream.”

Source

However obviously I am parroting a single Wikipedia page to someone who has read and written extensively about the autistic experience haha (and is living their own experience!)

What is your perspective on facilitated communication and rapid prompting? Do you feel this book was written by the child through these methods? I apologize if you've written on this topic before and I'm not familiar with your perspective 😅