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Asher Nash is an adorable 15-month-old baby boy who was turned down for a Carter’s ad by a modelling agency because he has Down syndrome.
His mother, Meagan Nash, saw that a modeling agency put out an open casting call for Carter’s, so she sent three impossibly cute photos of her son taken by a professional photographer.
The Buford, Georgia-based mom didn’t hear from the agency for weeks after, so she reached out to them for feedback.
“Something in my gut told me to reach out to them, because I couldn’t believe that he hasn’t gotten at least one call from them,” Meagan said.
But what she heard next astounded her: the agency told said they never submitted Asher’s photos because Carter’s hadn’t “requested a special needs baby.”
“I sat back all confused,” Meagan explained. “I immediately wrote a well-thought-out message explaining to them my son had every right to be considered.”
“We aren’t giving up,” she wrote, “This handsome boy is ready to show the world what Changing the Face of Beauty is really about.”
The agency apologized afterwards and assured her that they would submit Asher for future opportunities whether clients asked for special needs children or not.
It was picked up by popular Facebook page Kids With Down Syndrome, and little Asher’s dilemma has been shared by more than 125,000 people.
Another famous children’s clothing brand, OshKosh B’gosh, sat up and took notice. “We agree there is an opportunity for greater representation of children with special needs in advertising,” the company said in a statement.
“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.”
Meagan said she never intended to put Carter’s in a negative spotlight: “My goal was to spread awareness about the issue and my hopes were for OshKosh and many more brands to start including people with disabilities in their brand.”
She added, “The world is always changing and so is our perception of people with Down syndrome and other disabilities.”
