Dalton | Chicago Special Needs Photographer

I had been trying several times to get together with Dalton, but his mom and I always seemed to have scheduling conflicts.  On this day, it almost got canceled yet again due to all the rain we’ve been getting.  As I pulled into the parking lot, it started sprinkling.  We sat under a gazebo while I got to know Dalton, and then it started really raining. Sigh.  But after about 15 minutes, it let up enough for us to finally get a session together.  Under the gazebo, Dalton was busy reading, something he loves to do.  He also quickly warmed up to me and was talking my ear off.  I’ll admit that he was very difficult to understand as his articulation is heavily hindered.  While all children with Downs Syndrome have articulation struggles, there is a wide range of ability.  It’s a good thing I’m in deciphering mode with with my own toddler at home, so I was able to pick up on enough context to get the drift that Dalton was telling me all about animals, especially whales.  Maybe it was because of the Nemo book he was reading.

Dalton was very funny, if he stopped and noticed that I was taking his picture, he would pose like this (below).  While I normally hate fake smiles, I do love this image because you can see just how sweet he is.

Dalton definitely had a mind of his own.  He directed this session, and I was just along for the ride.  This is probably my very favorite picture from this session.  I love it.

Thank you, Dalton, for being my adventuring buddy and searching for whales, hawks, and frogs with me.