For a lot of parents, having their babies model is a great way to earn some extra money, and baby modeling is pretty easy. After all, all babies are adorable, right?
Well, that wasn't what mom Megan Richter Nash experienced. She submitted some photos of her 19-month-old son, Asher, to a local modeling agency, but they told her that they hadn't offered Asher's photos to companies.
Why not? Because Asher has Down Syndrome, and the advertising didn't "specify special needs."
Nash was devastated and hurt on her son's behalf, but she was also inspired to make a stand for more diversity and inclusivity in advertising. After all, people with special needs are part of the world. So why shouldn't they be part of advertising?
She started by posting Asher's photos to Changing the Face of Beauty, a Facebook group that pushes for a more inclusive view of beauty all over the world.
The photos were also promoted by various Down syndrome organizations and activists, all of whom have been part of projects to show that people with Down syndrome are just as deserving of love, respect, and dignity as anyone else.
Because Nash didn't take Asher's rejection lying down, more and more people are becoming aware that just because a child might be special needs, doesn't mean they should only be remembered on special occasions.
[H/T: BoredPanda, Huffington Post]
These were the photos that mom Megan Richter Nash submitted of her son, 19-moth-old Asher, to a local modeling agency.
But despite how cute they are, Nash was turned down because, according to the agency, they weren't looking for a "special needs" child.
Needless to say, Nash was crushed, but she was also inspired to make the world a little more accepting for her son.
"My first thought was how in the world does she know they don’t want a child with a disability if they haven’t even see his picture?” she said.
Nash expressed her disappointment to the agent who turned Asher down, and managed to convince her to include her son.
The agent has since submitted Asher's photo to various companies, and has promised to be more open-minded in the future.
Since the experience, Nash has been working with Down syndrome awareness organizations to make even more people aware that kids like Asher deserve to be as accepted as everyone else.
"I was hoping by posting the picture… just might get enough attention to change the world’s view on people with disabilities and spread awareness about this issue,” Nash explained.
“I want people to know they are not just a trend that comes and goes in advertisement; they are here to stay.”
There's no word yet on Asher's modeling career, but the world is a little more aware that people with disabilities deserve representation.
"People need to realize that babies, children, and adults with disabilities deserve to be in advertisements just as much as a typical person does," Nash said.
Nash has also dedicated herself to working in support of people everywhere with Down syndrome and their families.
She hopes that the world, with some reminders and some inspiration, will stop seeing kids like Asher as "different."
And if Asher is there, it should be pretty easy to make that change of mind!
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