Modeling Agency Snub Won't Stop Toddler With Down Syndrome

BUFORD, GA — Asher Nash is 15 months old — a dapper, bowtie-wearing blond with blue eyes and a winning smile.

He also has Down syndrome.

But his mom isn't letting that stand in the way of sharing his charms with others and, just possibly, changing the way advertisers think about kids with special needs.

This summer, Meagan Nash, 27, of Buford, submitted photos of Asher to a talent agency that was holding a call for OshKosh B'Gosh, the children's clothing line owned by Atlanta-based Carter Inc.

When she never heard back, she followed up and was told by an agent that the photos were never submitted because the company hadn't specifically asked for special-needs children for the campaign.

"That puzzled me, and so I asked if they had said they did not want a baby with special needs," Nash said. "When she said no, that they didn't specify either way, I asked why we wouldn't always submit him then ... . She agreed and said she would submit from then on."

Since then, Nash has ramped up her campaign.

Asher has his own Facebook page now.

And a blurb about Asher's story, along with photos of him, shared by the popular Kids With Down Syndrome page about two weeks ago, had more than 76,000 "likes" and had been shared more than 123,000 times as of Monday.

Meagan has also begun working with Changing The Face of Beauty, a nonprofit group that is committed to the equal representation of people with disabilities in advertising and other media.

Those efforts, which have been picked up by media including "Good Morning America," have paid off. Meagan and Asher had a meeting this week with OshKosh executives, and learned Friday that Asher will be featured in a spring 2017 ad campaign.

"Ideally, I would love for Oshkosh to meet my son and see what we see in him," Meagan told Patch before the meeting. "I don't want them to use him because of this fuss we are making on the internet. I want them to use him because they value him and see how much he could contribute to their advertisement."

Meagan, Asher's dad, David, and 8-year-old sister Addison, will keep working for awareness.

As part of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Addison filmed a video for her classmates about the condition and is currently trying to start her own Down syndrome-related nonprofit group.

"Children with Down syndrome and all other disabilities are incredible human beings," Meagan said. "And we want Oshkosh to help us change the world's perception."

Professional photos by Crystal Barbee Photography. Family photo courtesy Meagan Nash.