One mother sick of not seeing kids like her daughter in back-to-school ads decided to shoot her own campaign using a cast of children with disabilities.
Illinois mum and photographer Katie Driscoll‘s four-year-old daughter Grace has Down syndrome and while she was busy readying her child for the start of the school year, she noticed none of the school adverts she had seen featured children with special needs.
“It was almost like the children who had differences were not even part of the general school population or would be returning to school this year,” she told the Huffington Post.
“All kids of all abilities share the same excitement and anxiety about returning to school… the imagery needed to reflect that.”
Driscoll took to social media to find a cast of children who would challenge the societal norm to create a project that would that would encourage mass media to be inclusive of all children, no matter their level of ability.
Equipped with stylish school gear, Driscoll shot the images in a Chicago bookstore and while she had done similar shoots before she told the Huffington Post each experience is “beautiful”.
“Every time I do these shoots I see children come together and enjoy each other. I see fears melt away and friendships made.”
Although little Grace did not appear in this specific project, because her mum wanted to let other children enjoy the thrill of a photo shoot, Driscoll still credits her daughter for inspiring the idea.
“She inspires me to do what I can for others who are living with different abilities as well as paving a better future for her.”
Katie Driscoll, the mother of a girl with Down syndrome, shoots her own back-to-school ads featuring a cast of children with disabilities. PHOTO: Kathryn Driscoll / Via 5boysand1girlmake6.com
“I thought of all the parents who have children [with] different learning or physical abilities and what it must feel like to be searching for the perfect book bag,” Driscoll told BuzzFeed. PHOTO: Kathryn Driscoll / Via 5boysand1girlmake6.com
Driscoll set the diverse shoot in a Chicago bookstore. PHOTO: Kathryn Driscoll / Via 5boysand1girlmake6.com
“How can we expect children to be accepting of children who are different if they are virtually none existent in the general media and advertising,” Driscoll told Buzzfeed. PHOTO: Kathryn Driscoll / Via 5boysand1girlmake6.com
Driscoll hopes the shots challenge society’s ideas of beauty and encourage mass media to be inclusive of all children, no matter their level of ability. PHOTO: Kathryn Driscoll / Via 5boysand1girlmake6.com
The social media reaction to the shoot has been huge which the photographer says is an indication that people really do want to see more diversity. PHOTO: Kathryn Driscoll / Via 5boysand1girlmake6.com
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