Kids with disabilities go through a lot in their young lives: unending medical tests, tubes, needle pricks and even the unintentional look from strangers.
And while for some, their bodies may be weak, their spirits are strong, and a Washington state photographer is trying to get that spirit on film.
It's called the Superhero Project, and a mom whose child was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, who happened to be a professional photographer, started it all.
Renee Bergeron owns Little Earthling Photography.
She is also the mom of Apollo.
Apollo was diagnosed with a double aortic arch when he was 18 months old. Since then he has had multiple heart surgeries and a feeding tube.
One day Bergeron dressed Apollo up as a superhero for a few fun pictures and he started posing, totally unprompted.
"After seeing how much he enjoyed the super hero images of himself, The Super Hero Project was born," Bergeron said on her site.
She then offered the same super hero session to other kids with either seen or unseen disabilities.
Cody, known as Cody Bear to his mother, was born with Down syndrome. He also has low muscle tone according to Bergeron. But despite his challenges, he looked as if he were ready to fly during his session.
Cameron is 4. He had delays in speech and motor development. He also has sensory issues.
The sessions are free of charge. Bergeron hopes that it will give encouragement to families who can be discouraged because of the hurdles facing them.
Visit her photography site here (http://littleearthlingphotography.com/) and read her blog here (http://www.littleearthlingblog.com/)
Below are more photos from the project
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