Throughout my life as a mom to seven children, I always have a camera with me! I previously worked as a Special Olympics coach, speech / language consultant, and intellectual disabilities advocate. My own daughter, Ava, also has Down syndrome. I am privileged to have a window into the lives of these special people, and I use this special access to capture their lives on camera!
My love for these individuals with special needs, and my passion for photography, has merged into capturing the reality of their lives. Life for these people can be full of friends and family yet isolating at the same time. With social pressure for full inclusion, the fact remains: Ava and others with Down syndrome/trisomy 21 and other intellectual/developmental disabilities, can remain isolated and lonely. My camera, and my commitment to this community, allows me to capture both the beautiful and the vulnerable moments.
Capturing these memories and highlighting these individuals’ full personalities, passions and interests is my goal. In addition, providing a safe place for these individuals, and their families, to have professional photographs taken is what I aspire to with my work. To show a bit of their world - full of joy, living in the moment, and living without judgment. My hope is to bring a broader perspective to show how people with special needs and intellectual disabilities experience the world - in doing so, I hope to change how the world perceives them.
