Photographer dad makes Down's Syndrome son fly
Alan Lawrence wants the amazing pics of his son to raise awareness of Down's Syndrome
Wil can fly
Sometimes it takes a special situation to produce something special. American photographer Alan Lawrence certainly didn’t feel special when he first found out that his newborn son Wil had Down's Syndrome.
"It was a shock," he told ABC news, candidly admitting, "It felt as though he would put limits on what my family would accomplish."
But the dad-of-5 quickly changed his mind. He now believes that Wil can do anything he puts his mind to. “He is just like any kid his age. It just takes a little longer for him to reach some of those average milestones.”
But it’s not an average milestone to be able to fly. Yet that’s what Alan has enabled Wil to do – at least photographically.
“When Wil was little, he would lie on his stomach and raise his arms and legs like he was flying,” recalls Alan. “It wasn’t something any of my other kids did," he said. "We all said, 'Look, he’s flying!'"
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So Alan has since created a series of incredible photos showing 18-month-old Will flying in various situations – out for a run, eating and even hanging out with cows.
“Wil has opened so many doors for us," explains his dad, who is now using the interest in the photos to raise awareness of Down’s Syndrome. The family have created a calendar and are donating the proceedings to Down's Syndrome charities. They’ve set up a Kickstarter project and so far have raised $7,942 of their $12,500 goal.
See more of Wil and his family on their Youtube channel.
Photos: That Dad Blog
Dinner time
Hanging out with cows
Building a snowman
Blowing bubbles
Flying over mountains
Checking out his reflection
Rawrrrr...
Feeding the chickens
Flying through the woods
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