With World Autism Awareness Day approaching, a budding photographer is doing his best to challenge perceptions of what people with Asperger’s syndrome can achieve.

Asperger’s is a form of autism and can affect how a person communicates with and relates to other people.

On April 2, landmarks around the globe will light up blue in celebration of people with autism.

For Jordan Shults, 18, or J Shu as he prefers to be known, discovering photography was something of a stroke of luck when he needed to choose an extra option choice at his previous school, Colchester Academy.

It soon became clear Jordan had a gift for photography and now he is part of a new exhibition at the Firstsite gallery.

Jordan’s mother Vanessa Shults said: “We were told by a teacher at Colchester Academy we had to do something about this because he is good at it.”

It is not always as easy to get people with special educational needs the support and encouragement they need but Mrs Shults feels Jordan is lucky to be surrounded by people who care and support him – both his family and schools.

Mrs Shults said even at his primary school, Roach Vale, Jordan had been helped.

Due to his Asperger’s, Jordan needs extra instruction and supervision to complete a lot of tasks.

He has had a statement of educational needs since he was in Year Six, which sets out his learning difficulties and details how to help him. But thanks to the support, and Jordan’s innate talent, he has just had one of his pictures displayed in the Firstsite gallery as part of the Andy Warhol: Artist Rooms exhibition.

The gallery is offering opportunities to emerging artists wanting to explore Warhol’s creativity and as a fan of Warhol’s work Jordan jumped at the chance to get involved.

For a feature on the entrance to gallery, 66 faces of Colchester residents have been turned into pop art prints and Jordan is also a striking part of the display – both as a photographer and a model.

The exhibition, which Jordan described as the "best weekend ever" was launched with an open evening.

Jordan is currently studying his AS levels in photography and maths along with GCSEs in media and English at the Colne Community School and College, Brightlingsea.

He joined the college in September but Cheryl Pascoe, who is head of the sixth-form college, said she had seen Jordan flourish.

Mrs Shults, of Longridge, Colchester, added: “I cannot say enough for the team at the Colne, they are amazing. Cheryl is absolutely the most wonderful head I have dealt with.”

Jordan’s fascination with photography is sparked by the work of artists including Warhol and David Hockney, but also by the sights of the world around him, not least the family’s Jack Russell, Archie.

The change in scenery from the hustle and bustle of a busy Colchester to the rural seaside town of Brightlingsea has provided Jordan with further artistic inspiration.

Mrs Shults said: “Coming to Brightlingsea is a breath of fresh air. It is only a 15-minute journey where there is this beautiful countryside.”

Jordan is a little different from the crowd of boisterous teenage students Mrs Pascoe is used to.

She said: “I think, as a character, he is exceptional. He does not have the ego of a lot of teenagers and he is very kind.

“The nice thing is he is incredibly humble. He questions himself all the time. When he gets this kind of recognition he really deserves it; I definitely think he needs to recognise how good he is.

“The reason why he is going to be so successful is he knows what he wants to do but he also wants to know how he can improve.”

Mrs Shults is incredibly proud of what Jordan has achieved so far and feels he is a credit to the family, who have helped him grow so much.

She said: “It is because of the sister he has and the family around him that Jordan is like he is. We love him for the person he is and we are also proud for how he is.”

In his future career, Jordan would like to be a professional photographer or a video games designer – and he may just extend his 15 minutes of fame.