Mom's aim to get son with Down syndrome featured in ad campaign goes viral

Credit: Crystal Barbee (crstyalbarbeephotography.com) 

A mom from Georgia's mission to spread her son's beauty with others is going viral.

Meaghan Nash's 15-month-old boy, Asher, has Down syndrome and in July, Nash submitted photos of him to an advertising agency working a campaign for OshKosh B'Gosh. 

Nash told a local paper, “I want the world to see just how amazing he is, and just how amazing other people with Down syndrome are.”

But, Nash says she was told Asher's photos weren't going to be submitted because OshKosh didn't specify they wanted a baby with special needs.

That didn't sit well with Nash who wondered if the clothing company said they did not want a baby with special needs.

Nash then found out about a non-profit called Changing the Face of Beauty which aims to get companies to value children with disabilities as consumers in their ads. She shared photos of Asher on their Facebook page and from there, the internet took over.

The photos were soon posted to a popular Facebook page called Kids with Down Syndrome, where they have been liked and shared thousands of times. The post says, 'This handsome boy is ready to show the world what Changing the Face of Beauty is really about. When Asher's mom submitted him to a casting call out- she was told the company hadn't 'requested a special needs baby'!! Let's find out how he can model for OshKosh B'gosh and show the world what he's made of!' 

The post and media about Asher got the company's attention, and Nash and Asher are set to have a meeting with OshKosh next week. She says she is in no way trying to petition Oshkosh, but simply trying to grab their attention to make them aware of an issue people with children with disabilities face.

In a statement, the company has said, “OshKosh B’Gosh appreciates the importance of representing the diversity of our customers in our advertising. Since we became aware of Ms. Nash’s request, our team has reached out to her directly to better understand her perspective and provide additional information about our casting process. We agree there is an opportunity for greater representation of children with special needs in advertising. We look forward to meeting with Asher and his family, as well as taking steps to enhance the representation of diverse children in our marketing.”

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