In 2010, my mother entered a relationship with another man despite my birthday wishes since I can remember consisting of the reunification of my biological parents. The new man in not only my mum’s life but mine also, was David; an accountant who I had previously met due to my mum and dad’s mutual friends. He was a reasonably calm and stable guy which was a factor that was cherished in my household as we were usually quite nomadic due to moving houses on several occasions.

When the introduction of my new father figure had settled, my mother broke the news we would be moving in as a family, which as a ten year old boy upset me as I still had hoped for my parents to come together. Although I detested the idea in theory, the practice of this new family image in the home was  beneficial for everybody. However, moving house again and having a new man in the house was not the only surprise which David had brought with him as me, as an only-child had to share all my belongings and frequently my space with two of David’s children from a previous relationship. Noah and Lukah would stay for the weekend every fortnight which cause havoc for my mother and David as having three hyperactive boys was tricky, especially as two of which suffered from A.D.H.D. Another difficulty was the fact we were also separate ages for I was ten/ eleven, Noah was three/four and Lukah was two so finding an activity to occupy us all was an awkward task. I recollect playing Mario Kart numerous times over the 2010 Christmas period as it was difficult to find a suitable activity for all of us, however, keeping me and Noah inside together was catastrophic for the household.

As I started secondary school, my A.D.H.D began to level out somehow. I’m often curious over how it did so with puberty being my only reasonable solution, but either way I was grateful as I was able to focus more without the aid of my medication, I no longer felt different to those who didn’t have to take any pills to alter their behaviour, although A.D.H.D. was never a socially limiting factor for me. With the start of secondary school, I also founded my new sense of independence which combined with my birth of my little sister meant I was rarely home. Reaching twelve years old before I had a sibling came as a bit of surprise as I had always been my mother’s one and only and I liked it that way, however, now I had to share her and although Noah and Lukah were around before, I always knew and felt like the boss. As my social life consumed more of my time along with my increasing independence, I spent less and less time at home until I got a serious girlfriend at sixteen. We often go to each other’s house which would mean half of the time I would have to host, exposing her to the three other children in the household and the busy regime the children have my parents on.

By spending more time at home, I redeveloped and reconciled a relationship with Noah, who despite his disorder, wanted to play more mature games that adults played. So on the weekends he and Lukah were over, Noah would play board and card games with us and we’d often team up as the young guns against the parents, bringing us closer. However, it is important to mention my parents really struggle amusing and catering for Noah in terms of his disorder which frequently means the incorporation of me in order to find solutions to amuse him as I obviously have a first-hand account of what it is like to be in his ten year-old situation. I’ve instructed my parents to enroll Noah into something mentally stimulating and physically tiring, whilst also developing the crucial social skills that helped me overcome my disorder.

In this edit, I wanted to brighten the face of Noah in order to exploit this angelic expression to demonstrate how despite his disorder, he is an innocent and misunderstood boy. The chains which surround Noah is a representation of how his A.D.H.D. is trapping him, which combined with the tall tower implies his identity is overpowered by his disorder.

For my piece within the exhibition, I wish to show my display like so.

Going forward, I look to photograph and capture moments in which Noah is hyperactive as well as our solutions of amusing him. Another factor to consider is how demanding Noah reacts when he doesn’t get what he wants and the other children do so that’ll also be interesting to capture.