Boy With Down Syndrome Becoming an Unlikely Ad Star

This story is just on fire in the Down Syndrome community.  This little guy rocks!  And two of my favorite stores have done themselves proud.

One young man is making great strides in the modeling world despite what many might see as a significant impediment—he has Down syndrome. His name is Ryan, and he appears on page 9 of the new Target circular, just a few months after making an appearance in the Nordstrom catalog. A blog called Noah's Dad, written by the father of a different boy with Down syndrome, posted the Target ad this week and lauded the retailer for being seamlessly inclusive without drawing attention to itself. "This wasn't a 'Special Clothing For Special People' catalog," he writes. "There wasn't a call out somewhere on the page proudly proclaiming that 'Target's proud to feature a model with Down syndrome in this week's ad!' And they didn't even ask him to model a shirt with the phrase 'We Aren't All Angels' printed on the front. In other words, they didn't make a big deal out of it. I like that." Ryan's mother commented on a separate post about Nordstrom, where she writes: "We are very pleased that Nordstrom placed Ryan in their catalog. The whole process of modeling is an extreme confidance booster for him. He received so much warmth and caring from the Nordstrom crew that he thought they were there just for him! We are honored that Ryan is making the Down syndrome community proud. He is a beautiful boy inside and out. He makes us better parents, and a better family."

Be gentle