Model with Down syndrome inspires others

A six-year-old boy model with Down syndrome has become a source of inspiration after his modelling shots went viral.

Ryan Langston was featured in a catalogue last year for department store Nordstrom and then modelled in an advertisement for Target two weeks ago.

The ads have won widespread praise online, especially among families with children with disabilities, US media report.

"We are very happy and proud that Ryan is being such a wonderful face for kids with Down syndrome and we think he's a great little ambassador," Ryan's mother Amanda Langston told the Boston Herald.

The Target ad shows Ryan posing with four other children. He is the only child with Down syndrome but Target has made no attempt to highlight any difference, a move that pleases his father Jim Langston.

"It's a big deal because they are not making a big deal about it," Mr Langston told NBC News.

Despite the huge amount of attention Ryan has received, both Target and Normstrom have actually featured people with disabilities in their advertisements for years.

Target has included people with disabilities in ads since the early 1990s and Nordstrom has run catalogues with children with Down syndrome since 1997.

But it was an online post earlier this month from Rick Smith, a popular blogger and advocate for families living with Down syndrome, that helped the ads get more attention.

Mr Smith — whose popular blog is based around the life of his 11-month son Noah, who also has Down syndrome — said the response from his January 2 post was "overwhelming".

The Langstons say they will continue to support Ryan's modelling.

Mrs Langston said Ryan's twin brother Ian, who does not have Down syndrome, "has probably been the largest part of Ryan's success".