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Photographer makes special needs children’s dreams come true in adorable photo shoot

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PHOTO: Facebook/Glass Crown Photography
PHOTO: Facebook/Glass Crown Photography

After using her own son as inspiration, one photographer set out to make three children with special needs' dreams come true by photographing them alongside members of the local police department.

For 13-year-old Zane, 11-year-old Owen and seven-year-old Elliot their lifelong dream to one day become police officers in South Dakota, USA seemed an unlikely one.

Living with Down Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy respectively, individually they may not likely be able to serve alongside their local heroes.

But Carrie Lewis was determined to turn these boys' dreams into a reality, even for just a day, hoping also to inspire her own son, Kai, who suffers from an undiagnosed neurological disorder, to chase his dreams.

She photographed the three boys alongside the Rapid City PD police officers, who donned their full uniforms.

They were also pictured in the driver's seat of a squad car, along with a group of attending officers, an experience which left each boy beaming from ear to ear.

"I hope people realise that every kid deserves to have their dreams come true, no matter the circumstances,” said Carrie, owner of Glass Crown photography.

She was surprised by the reaction she received on social media.

"After I uploaded my post to Facebook, I was shocked at how many parents told me that photographers don't shoot special needs children,” Carrie revealed.

"Out of all of this, I hope photographers will become more open to photographing special needs kids and not fear them.

"Zane and Owen are non-verbal but they always salute any military, police officers or firefighters they see and will stop everything they're doing if cops are on TV.

“For Elliot, all he's ever wanted to be is a cop and apparently he's always walking around his home telling everybody they're under arrest.

"With my youngest son, Kai, special needs is certainly a subject that's very close to my heart, so I knew it was important for these boys that I could make their dreams real life.

"I decided to reach out to the local police department and after telling them about the boys, they went way above and beyond what I ever could've hoped for.

"They blocked off an entire road for us, brought four squad cars and let the kids live out their dreams, letting them wear their jackets and sit in the front seat of the cars.

"The police officers loved it as much as the kids did, they were so patient and kind to the boys, they really enjoyed helping make their boy's dreams come true.

"It was such a rewarding experience, I can't really even describe the feeling.

"Two out of the three boys were non-verbal, but they didn't have to say anything for me to gauge how they felt, their smiles said it all.”

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