A talented nine-year-old British model named Alice Price-John is starring in a UK supermarket’s national ad campaign, as reported by The Mirror. Alice Price-John has Down syndrome, but her condition is not stopping her from “spreading joy wherever she goes,” according to her mother, Vicky Price-John.
Price-John hopes that the perception of Down syndrome is changing in the medical field and in society. When Alice was born, Price-John and her husband were only presented with the negative aspects of Down syndrome and the possible defects their daughter could suffer from.
“When Alice was born with Down Syndrome the actual medical professionals didn’t have… a modern understanding of living with Down syndrome… all we were told were the medical issues that she might have. And we were given a few… photocopied leaflets.” Doctors couldn’t have prepared the couple for the gift of Alice and her vibrant life.
In the ad campaign, Alice is pictured running with a broad smile on her face, wearing a classic school uniform, at the center of Tesco’s school uniform promotion. The Tesco ad starring Alice has since appeared in multiple national UK publications, including the Daily Mirror.
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In response to questions about her daughter’s experience in the advertising campaign, Price-John said her daughter loves modeling, and Alice does important work by representing people with disabilities in the public square.
“She loves doing it, which is the most important thing for us as a family. But I think it’s quite nice to see people with disabilities in the public arena, just sort of normalizing people like that,” Price-John said.
READ: She spent her teen years raising her sister with Down syndrome, and has no regrets
In addition to attending a standard state school with other children her age, Alice is involved in music theater, swimming, and multiple modeling gigs. Over the last six years, Alice has modeled for Argos, Apple, and a yoga book.
“She has a brilliant life, she’s incredibly happy. She does lots of activities. She loves school, she loves her friends. She’s loved by her friends and that’s… normal,” Alice’s mother said.
Alice’s parents sometimes receive sympathetic remarks from other people because Alice has Down syndrome. Her mother responds: “She’s got a brilliant life, thanks. You don’t need to feel sorry for her. She doesn’t care she’s got Down syndrome. She cares that she’s Alice, and she’s brilliant and she’s having a lovely time.”
According to Price-John, Alice has the unique ability to live joyfully and to give that joy to others. When Alice and her mother participated in an event for Down syndrome awareness, her mother explained her daughter’s truly remarkable talent: “She has an innate ability to spread joy wherever she goes. Her smile is infectious and people are drawn to her wherever we go.”
Alice Price-John’s parents gave her the chance to live, and now she embraces an exceptional life. Yet many babies with Down syndrome are never born, especially in the UK and in other countries including Denmark and Iceland where almost all babies with Down syndrome are killed in the womb by abortion. It’s time to change the medical and cultural narrative about life with Down syndrome, as the Price-Johns and many others are.
