Little Boy With Down Syndrome Models For Tech Company's New Ad Campaign

Jan 04, 2020 by apost team

If there is one very personal New Year's resolution we should be making, being more rational about true diversity should be at the top of our list. We talk about gender, ethnic, and religious diversity, but we often come up short with regard to people who live with disabilities. Here's a nice story that should remind us about this matter and how we should approach it in 2020.

Rio Williams is a rising star in the lucrative world of child modeling. This 22-month-old British toddler was born in Bristol with Down syndrome plus a range of other healthcare complications including a perforated bowel, reports the Daily Mail.

Little Rio is not only adorable but also extremely confident; his mother noticed that he stole the hearts of all the healthcare professionals whenever he visited clinics, something that he unfortunately has to do often because of his condition, so she decided to sign him up with a modeling agency.

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In just a few weeks, Rio's agents saw him as the new version of the iconic Gerber baby. The Daily Mail states his first gig was for the European retail giant Primark, and the next was with an even more prominent retailer: Amazon.

Rio is a natural at modeling. Not only does he have the looks but also a sweet disposition that cameras love. When you look at the ad campaigns where Rio is featured, you see a happy child; his facial features are typical of someone with Down syndrome, but it is far too easy to look beyond that.

Advertising is part of mainstream media, and this is where we need more representation and inclusion of people who live with disabilities. They are just like us, but they have special requirements that we should be aware of. We all need help from time to time; this is part of the human condition, and we need to include everyone in our thoughts and in our lives.

If you think that Rio is the first model with Down syndrome, you should know that the first runway show featuring models and fashion designers with disabilities took place in Mexico City last year. Not only were models with Down syndrome featured, but they also wore attire designed by a woman, Isabella Springmuhl, with the same condition. In Mexico, they refer to disabilities as "different capacities."

What do you think about Rio? Isn't he cute to the point of celebration? Should we be seeing more models with diverse capacities on runways and advertising campaigns? Post this story on your favorite social network; let your followers see what a cute child Rio is, and let's spread awareness about how diverse we really are. In 2020, we should not ignore those who are different from the rest.