So due to Christmas coming up, I wanted to have some family photos done. We had not had photos of the family since Trey was age 3, which was before his younger brother, Kameron was born. Prior to us coming in, I told the person that answered the phone that my son was autistic and hyperactive and that they would probably need an assistant to support the photographer in taking our pictures. I was assured that an assistant would be present to help so it would not be all on us to get the boys to act right during the photos. Well of course the minute I step in, it’s chaos in the studio and terribly overcrowded probably due to a promotion that the studio was running. We sat waiting 15 minutes past our appointment time and I had to go up to the front desk to ask when would we be seen since we did have an appointment. They said it was really busy due to the holiday season but took us 5 minutes later, with no assistant because they were so busy. The lady who did take the photos was familiar with Autism as she had an Autistic cousin but not great with giving us the direction, we needed to take proper photos. She did the best she could dealing with two hyperactive boys who were not cooperating as they should. I was kind of disappointed by the whole experience but glad to have gotten a few decent photos to choose from. While I was selecting the photos, my family waited in the very busy and chaotic waiting area. The noise, kids, and toys caused my sensory seeking son to ‘amp’ up and he started jumping up and down and stimming with his happy noises. He got more than a few stares from kids and adults and I did my usual ignoring of this intolerance. My husband ended up taking him into the car since Trey wouldn’t calm down. He later told me that on his way out, another man stopped him and told him that he was proud of how well my husband handled the situation. The guy shared that he is also a father of an autistic boy and that he hates when he gets stares for his son’s behavior. This brought me to fully appreciate how those of us that have autistic children are part of a special community that feels the need to reach out to one another and offer support to complete strangers. This is because we understand, like no other, the challenges that come with having an autistic child and dealing with insensitivity and intolerance and having to mull through it somehow. This guy ended up taking a really good picture of us after the session right outside the studio and my husband said that he preferred this picture over the studio pictures we took. To be honest, I did too but I didn’t tell him since I had spent so much on those photos. This whole experience did spark my interest in finding a sensory sensitive photographer that had experience with dealing with Autistic children.  I reached out to the Autism Society of NC Facebook group and asked for a recommendation. I was overwhelmed with the list that I was given, which consisted of recommendations in the North Carolina area. I wanted to share this information with all so you can have a better experience with a photographer than I did. We, Autism folks, love to share resources and I hope you will find these resources to be helpful to you in the future: