Arizona mom Maria MacKeigan had never met a person with Down syndrome until she gave birth to her daughter, Jordan Grace MacKeigan. After finding out that she would be giving birth to a child with Down syndrome, Maria was full of emotions.
“I was so scared about it because I didn’t know how our lives would turn out. And I thought that we would be locked in a room and we wouldn’t be able to take her out and it’s the complete opposite.” But all of her worries quickly disappeared after Jordan was born and Maria realized how much brighter life was going to be. In fact, Jordan inspired her photographer mom in an incredible way.
Jordan loved to have her picture taken, but Maria noticed that all the kids you see on commercials or in magazines looked nothing like her daughter. She wanted to make sure that anyone with a disability felt included and beautiful. That is when she paired up with Changing the Face of Beauty, which is a nonprofit organization that advocates for inclusive imagery in media. Maria organized her own photo shoot and invited any child with a disability to come out and have their picture taken.
Afterwards, the pictures could be sent to modeling and advertising agencies around the country. You can see from all of the smiling faces that these children are having the most amazing time. Maria’s mission is so inspiring and it is amazing to see what she is doing to normalize Down syndrome.