I have to admit that I was pretty ignorant on the subject of autism. I always thought it was defined by some type of deficiency.
When I had the opportunity to photograph Jayden, he told me that he wanted to see the carnival, go to Toys 'R Us, and run around the park. While he was a bit vociferous in his expression, it was clear that he wanted to do nothing differently from any other boy.
I learned that Jayden was not running on a deficit; he was running on a surplus - a surplus of expression, emotion, and wonderful, bright smiles.