Naperville Photographer | Special Needs Mini-Sessions Part 1

It is April, and that means it is also Autism Awareness Month.  In honor of all the families out there with special needs children, we hosted our annual Special Needs Mini-Sessions.  We understand that many families with special needs kiddos struggle with getting good pictures of their children, especially those with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  The tales families have shared with me are heartbreaking and filled with disappointment because their children don’t do exactly what a photographer wants.  This is why we waive our session fees and minimum order requirements for these mini-sessions as a way to give back to the community and to celebrate these wonderful children and their families.

These are the first half of my April 11th sessions.

First off was Bella, who we photographed last year, as well.  Bella has Autism and is non-verbal.  She is almost always found with a hat on her head.  While her outfit was PERFECT for my new Americana backdrop, they also wanted some pictures with her pageant dress.  Bella will be participating in the IL Miss Amazing Pageant later this month in the “Rising Stars” division.  This pageant is to celebrate individuals that are effects with disabilities share their abilities.  Bella utilizes an AAC (Augmentative Assitive Communication)  device that provides output from a computer generated voice, and she was able to tell me through that that she wanted to go onto the bed at the end.

 

 

Next up was a new family to us, but with some seriously adorable children!  Little Noelle is seven months old and was born with Down Syndrome.  She is a tiny, little thing, but she is bringing big joy to her family and big brother who officially told me that he was the best at making her happy.  He was such a joyful little guy.  I hope I get to see this family again!

 

 

Next up, we had another sibling duo.  Sean is almost 11 years old and super tall!  He has Autism and a mixed receptive expressive language disorder.  This means that he can talk, but it is not conversational.  He is a sweet boy who loves to swim, play soccer, ride his scooter, jump and swing during his leisure time. Unfortunately, outside of the studio, he became overly stressed and upset.  So during the session he kept repeating that he wanted to go to Burger King.  He wasn’t at his happiest, but he complied and did as I asked with the promise of going straight to Burger King afterwards.  I’m sorry he wasn’t at his happiest, but I am so happy to have met both him and his beautiful sister.

 

 

Last for the morning part of the day was a trio of high energy!  These three mischief-makers had us all laughing and scrambling.  Little Becket is only two but he has BIG smiles and lots of love to give.  He was born with Down Syndrome, but that is certainly not keeping this kid down.  With his two big sisters, he is not lacking in attention, love, or giggles.  Yeah, this guy is a ham!  LOL

 

 

I love sharing the stories of these special needs families and their wonderful kiddos.  Now to get back to editing the rest from this day.

If you have a special needs child, please keep Firefly Nights Photography in mind for your photography needs.  With our personal and professional experience, we love being able to give families the wonderful pictures they deserve.