NIHR Photographic Competition 2015: CLAHRC West photo in top 10

The NIHR CLAHRC West entry to the NIHR Photographic Competition 2015 has been selected as one of the top ten entries.

This year’s theme was equality and diversity, and our entry was a photo taken at the Silai Centre in Bristol. The CLAHRC West team was meeting at the centre with members of the Somali community and Autism Independence, while working on the project to improve outcomes for children with autism in the Bristol Somali community.

The photo was taken by Osob Elmi, the niece of Nura Aabe, founder and Chief Executive of Autism Independence and a co-researcher on the project. The image will be added to the NIHR Photo Library and be used on the website and in future NIHR materials. The prize for the top ten winners is a visit to the Google office in London in October.

Dr Fiona Fox, one of the NIHR CLAHRC West researchers working on the project, said: “We are delighted that this photo has achieved the top ten in the competition. In this project we’re working closely with the Bristol Somali community to explore the experiences of Somali families who have a child with autism. This is an underserved community, which, research shows, is at greater risk of developing autism than children from other groups.”