The daughter of Tibetan parents, Chogkee was born on the spectrum.
She doesn't speak.
Screaming and crying, perhaps afraid, unable to communicate her reality. Rashes plagued her body in unnerving pain.
Nine years ago on a trip to India, Chogkee 's Ama (mother) seeked out His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and His Holiness the Karmapa for help.
Chogkee was granted a private audience.
Tibetan medicine moves far beyond traditional pharma alone, healing the body, speech, and mind together. Following the private audiences, Chogkee's rashes disappeared. The screaming stopped. The tears turned into laughter.
Photographed over a few days, years apart, this essay examines an afternoon on the spectrum and the relationship with her father, Thinley, in Queens, New York.
