Boy with Down syndrome to model for clothing company after denial story goes viral

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The story of a little boy with Down syndrome has gone viral after a local modeling agency rejected him for a clothing ad.

Meagan Nash told Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen since the day her baby boy Asher was born, he was very special.

"He comes in a room and everybody lights up and smiles.And so I just knew," Nash told Petersen.

Asher is now 15 months. And a bit of a camera hog.

"And he's sitting up like he's ready to have his picture done. And so I thought to myself, I think he's actually enjoying this," Nash said.

So Meagan sent photos to an Atlanta modeling agency that she said rejected Asher because they weren't looking for a child with special needs. She said that hurt.

"But I was also angry, because I thought he should have a chance just like anybody else to be submitted," Nash said.

So she took to social media where Asher's story went viral. %

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This week, Meagan and Asher met with reps of the OshKosh B'Gosh clothing company. She hopes shoppers can see him not as a little boy with special needs but a little boy who models clothes.

"I don't want them to say Asher has Down syndrome. I want them to see him in an ad, and see he's valued in the world and in society," Nash told Petersen.

Friday, an OshKosh B'Gosh representative sent Petersen an email saying, "We have extended an invitation to Asher to participate in an upcoming photo shoot and are excited to include him in our advertising.”

Cox Media Group