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Being overlooked because you look a little different from everyone else is a sad thing. Looking a little different should be a good thing.
One mother was very upset when a children’s clothing store advertising agency rejected her young son because he has Down Syndrome. So the mother, Meagan Richter Nash, of Buford, Georgia, wrote about it on Facebook, and she posted pictures of her 15-month-old son, Asher, with the hashtag “changing the face of beauty.”
Meagan got Asher into an open casting call for children in an Osh Kosh B’gosh advertisement. The agency told her that the company had not “requested a special needs baby.” You can imagine Meagan’s dismay. Then she asked one of the agents at the casting call if the company had specifically requested a special needs child not be used in the ad. She was told they had not, and that the casting company only assumed that so-called regular children were the only ones to consider.
Meagan even assured the casting group that her son fit all the criteria for a child being sought for the ad, and that he even wears that brand of clothing all the time. Didn’t matter; they did not consider him for the casting.
So Meagan had photos taken of Asher and posted them them to Facebook, saying she wasn’t about to give up, and that her son would love to model clothes for the company. Her post was shared by thousands, and a representative of the company told her he would get back with her soon. And he did. And Asher was prominently featured in a series of holiday advertisements.
Meagan was thrilled, of course, but she wanted others to know she did not post what she did as something against the company. She just wanted companies like Osh Kosh B’gosh to recognize that children with disabilities are just as important as children without them.
Meagan apparently got her point across to the company. Says the proud mother: “I set out to spread awareness on an issue we face in the world today, and people actually not only took notice, but they are also wanting to spread awareness and make a change like OshKosh did.”
And because the photo spread turned out to be so great, other companies are contacting Meagan to use Asher in their ads. They, too, could see the “special” in the youngster.
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