Thursday, August 2, 2012

Bath mother: Why my Seb's a model child


from This Is Bath:
A four-year-old boy from Bath with Down's syndrome has been picked as the face of a national children's clothing brand.
Sebastian White, who lives in Oldfield Park with his parents Caroline and Simon and one-year-old brother Dominic, has featured in a modelling campaign for the autumn/winter collection at JoJo Maman Bébé, which has a shop in Cheap Street.
The idea behind it is to raise awareness about the condition, while at the same time introducing more images of people with disabilities into the public eye.
His mother Caroline, 39, said Seb was a natural in front of the camera and had really enjoyed the opportunity to be the centre of attention.
She said she wanted her son to be involved in the campaign as a way to show that in so many ways he was just the same as other children his age.
"It is funny really because I am not the kind of mum who would've put my kids into modelling, but it is about getting his face out there, raising awareness and getting rid of that fear," she said.
"When Seb was born I was really ignorant about Down's syndrome and it was a really scary time.
"So I have always had this aim of trying to raise awareness, because the scary thing about disability is that it is different and the more you see of it, the more you normalise it and the easier it is to remove the fear."
Over the past year Seb has been splitting his time between the Bath Opportunity Pre-School at Three Ways School and Widcombe Acorns Pre-School.
He is now looking forward to going to school in September, when he will start with three days a week at St John's RC Primary, in Oldfield Park, and two days at Three Ways.
Mrs White said: "When he started at the mainstream pre-school I was really nervous for him and for me, but it has been the most positive thing.
"When he left a couple of weeks ago I sent an email round to everyone saying thank you and I have had so many wonderful responses.
"To everyone he is just Seb, and he just happens to have Down's syndrome."
To raise awareness about Seb and Down's syndrome, Mrs White has started a Facebook page, where she writes articles and updates followers about her family's experiences.

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