SHORELINE, Wash. -- After years of not being able to talk, Forrest Sargent has finally found a way to communicate with his family through photos.

"For the first 18 years of his life, (it) has been hell," said his mother, Rebecca Sargent.

But a letter board for communicating and camera for Christmas have opened a world shut off by profound autism.

"We just didn't know there was anybody in there," Sargent said. "Didn't know his favorite color, his favorite food was."

Forrest's favorite photographs now cover his bedroom walls at Fircrest.

The 19-year-old who can be extremely aggressive - "I have scars all up and down arms from bites and scratches," his mother said - can't cross streets alone or put shoes on the proper feet now has his own show this month at his aunt's gallery in Olympia.

"I like to take pictures of happy," Forrest said.

Forrest says he likes reaching people's minds with truth and beauty, showing the hidden parts of life. His new-found expression offers his family insight and relief.

"If you can express yourself you have a better life," his mother said.

For nearly two decades, autism trapped the artist within. But Forrest is finally here.

"I feel like I lost him for too many years, he's arrived," said his mother.

You can see Forrest's photographs at Childhood's End gallery in Olympia. His mother says she's not sure he understands the significance of the show, but says he did go on Facebook to suggest people buy his pieces.