The mom who inspired us all with her viral quest to encourage kids clothing company OshKosh B’Gosh to include her son with Down syndrome as a model in an ad campaign has scored a major victory.
It all unfolded after a recent viral Facebook post on the page “Kids With Down Syndrome” featured Meagan Nash, 27, and her 15-month-old son Asher, explaining that Nash wants her child to help “change the face of beauty.”
It didn’t take long for representatives with the clothing company to catch wind of the mom’s efforts and meet with her family, subsequently inviting Asher to be part of a holiday ad campaign for the brand’s parent company, Carter’s, WABC-TV reported.
OshKosh B’Gosh issued a statement to ABC News, praising Asher and thanking Nash for fighting so diligently for the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Representatives also said the brand will make greater future efforts to include children with disabilities in their campaigns.
“OshKosh B’gosh enjoyed spending time with Asher and his family earlier this week and hearing their perspective. We appreciate Ms. Nash’s passion for greater inclusiveness of children with special needs in advertising,” the company said. “We are committed to evolving our process to ensure that in the future children with special needs are better represented in our advertising campaigns.”
Nash told ABC News her meeting with the company made her feel “really good,” as she met her goal of raising awareness for her young son and others like him. Nash also said other companies have reportedly reached out to the family to express interest in using Asher in future campaigns.
“I feel accomplished. I feel like I set out to tell Asher’s story, to be heard, for him to be heard,” Nash said. “And that is exactly what happened, we were heard. Our message was delivered.”
The proud mom said her ultimate goal is to see her son included with his peers in school and in the workplace.
“I just want him to be able to live in a world where he has full inclusion and he is accepted for who he is, not for his diagnosis,” Nash added.
As Faithwire previously reported, Asher’s story gained attention after his mother submitted him for a modeling call. When she didn’t hear back, she reached out to the agent who posted it and learned that her son’s photos weren’t even sent on to OshKosh B’Gosh for consideration due to the fact that he had special needs; that bothered Nash, so she took action.
She posted the story on social media and it quickly went viral. It, of course, caught the attention of Carters and OshKosh B’gosh and the rest is, well, history.
We’ve also recently told other stories of moms who have told beautiful stories about their kids who were born with Down syndrome. Check that out here.
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