Role model: Down's syndrome boy, 4, to star in Marks & Spencer Christmas magazine

by Richard Smith from Mirror:Proud mum posted message on shop's Facebook saying Seb "charms the pants off everyone he meets and his little face is full of magic and mischief"Little Seb White is a good advert for positive attitudes.
The four-year-old’s mum had noticed how rarely Down’s syndrome kids featured in fashion shoots.
So she wrote to Marks & Spencer offering him as a model and to her delight the company said yes.
Seb will star in the M&S Christmas magazine. Proud mum Caroline, 39, who contacted the firm on Facebook, said yesterday: “He shows being ‘different’ isn’t any less wonderful – or even different.”
Mum-of-two Caroline added: “When Seb was born I vividly remember seeing lots of ads with hundreds of beautifully perfect kids in them and it just added to my sense of isolation.
“Then in July when we were shopping for Seb’s school uniform it occurred to me again that all the ‘different’ children out there are just not represented.”
Caroline, of Bath, Somerset, posted a message on M&S’s Facebook page saying: “Seb has striking, unusual features, charms the pants off everyone he meets and his little face is full of magic and mischief. So here’s the thing. He also happens to have Down’s syndrome. When he was born I was shocked to my core.
"I knew nothing about the condition and what should have been the happiest day of my life turned out to be the worst.
“I could never have imagined how excited and proud I would feel about him starting mainstream school in a couple of weeks. I wouldn’t swap him for the world.”
Product manager Caroline and husband Simon, 36, manager at a toiletries company, received a message asking them to call the store giant.
Seb – who started school last week – was invited to a photoshoot in London.An M&S spokesman said: “We always look for kids who have fun in front of the camera and Sebastian was a pleasure to work with. We are really looking forward to seeing Sebastian in our Christmas magazine.”

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.

To view it search for Downs Syndrome Raising Awareness and Shifting Attitudes.