Blog: Autism and me – how zoos become my therapy

Photographer Alfie Bowen shares with BIAZA the incredible story of how spending time at Africa Alive! And Banham Zoo helped him during the darkest times.

Aged 2 years-old, with unrelenting reserves of energy and a fear of almost everything about the world, my mother was at a loss as to what to do with me. Then, one afternoon in the year 2000, she discovered Suffolk Wildlife Park, and decided it was worth a visit. It’s safe to say I fell in love with the place, and so did she — finally somewhere I could run around whilst remaining safe, somewhere that I wasn’t surrounded by people, but rather by animals. The zoo quickly became a regular part of my young life.

My mother, a nursery-nurse, suspected early on in my life that I was probably Autistic — I couldn’t look anyone in the eye, and I didn’t make any attempt to speak. Then, one foggy morning whilst feeding the ducks, I screeched ‘Mallard’ — and from that moment on I have been utterly obsessed with animals. I always remember being told that I was a difficult child to entertain, because if it wasn’t animal-related then, quite simply, I couldn’t care less! I was finally diagnosed with autism aged 9 years-old, after my mum had fought for years to get an accurate diagnosis so that I would get the best support throughout my life.

The years that followed my diagnosis were extremely tough for myself and my family — the U.K’s education system is not built to accommodate autistic children, and I struggled throughout my time in the system, until I tried to end my life aged just 15 years-old. I was being bullied constantly, no one bothered to say hello, and I was now too afraid to read my wildlife magazines for fear of being laughed at.

I was forced, due to plummeting mental health, to reduce my time at school whilst my mum battled in court to secure me a space at a specialist school.  I eventually joined Centre Academy East Anglia (CAEA) as a shy and broken person, and spent the first year getting by, getting used to the massive change, and spending a lot of time in my own silent company, for that was what I was used to doing. Throughout my educational career I had been told that I would never be able to take GCSEs, but I successfully sat six GCSEs in my first year at the school, and I realised, after a torturous few years, that I finally no longer had to hide my passion for wildlife.

I then stumbled across my mum’s little Lumix compact camera – and set about attempting to photograph wildlife at Africa Alive! And Banham Zoo. I fell in love with photography, and haven’t looked back since — I am now signed with the U.K’s biggest gallery network (Castle Fine Art), have published my debut book, Wild World | Nature Through An Autistic Eye, and created a film about my journey with WaterBear Network.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that photography, along with ZSEA, probably saved my life during those dark days. Walking through the gates of either of ZSEA’s parks has been my therapy for over twenty-years, and it is the biggest honour in my career thus-far to have been appointed as Charity Ambassador — I am so excited to use my platform to introduce more people to the zoos, and the wonders of the natural world.

By Alfie Bowen

Click here to see more of Alfie’s work including his photography book.

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not a reflection of BIAZA's positions.