Anne Belanger shed many tears this week, overwhelmed by the public support she got after speaking out about an insensitive class photo that showed her young son in his wheelchair separated from his classmates.
But on Monday, the New Westminster mom finally had reason to smile when she saw the retaken class photo.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said. “It’s a really nice shot.”
In the new photo, Miles Ambridge flashes his million-watt smile as he sits on a bench, supported by his caregiver in the front row, alongside his Grade 2 classmates at Herbert Spencer Elementary.
Miles has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that causes his muscles to weaken. The seven-year-old, who has never walked, was diagnosed with the disease at 13 months. It does not affect cognitive abilities.
Aside from his signature smile, Miles is barely recognizable from the previous class photo that went viral online, with more than 4.2 million views on The Province’s website since it appeared on the front page Friday.
In that photo, which his father described as humiliating for his son, Miles sat in his wheelchair excluded from the rest of his classmates by an obvious gap. Despite being separated from his friends, the young boy beamed for the camera, leaning as far to the side as possible to get closer to his peers.
The heart-wrenching image has since appeared in media outlets around the world, including the Toronto Star, the Daily Mail and NBC’s Today show, drawing fierce condemnation of the photographer and Miles’s school.
When she first saw the retaken photo, which has been given to the entire class, Belanger said she didn’t immediately notice her son without his bright, fire-engine-red wheelchair.
“You can’t pick him out this time,” she said. “For him, to fit in, this is what it should be.”
Some critics have pointed out that taking Miles out of his wheelchair to include him in the class photo sends the wrong message. But his father, Don Ambridge, who came up with the idea, defended his decision. He argued that Miles is not limited to his wheelchair and often sits on the couch or his bed when he’s home.
“All you’ve got to do is look at the kid sitting on the bench with a grin on his face and that’s why we do it,” said Ambridge. “He’s a happy little guy.”
Both parents said they are stunned and deeply moved by the outpouring of support from complete strangers.
When she decided to go public with the photo, Belanger said she simply wanted an apology from Lifetouch Canada, the school photography company that took the image — and an offer to retake the photo.
Belanger thinks it was Miles’s smile in the photo that struck a chord with so many.
“He’s just so happy,” she said. “And that’s the thing — he’s oblivious to the whole thing but he’s so happy and he wants to fit in.”
Last week, Lifetouch Canada admitted its photographer made a mistake and said it had already retaken the photo.
Lifetouch said it trains its photographers to arrange students differently when working with a child in a wheelchair. In this case, the composition “wasn’t done right,” said territory manager Dean Cochrane.
Miles was never shown the original photo, and is still oblivious to all the attention he is getting. Belanger said she has kept copies of both class photos in case he wants to see it when he’s older.
On Tuesday evening, Belanger showed him the new photo.
His reaction? “Oh, mommy! This is so nice.” Instead of crying, Belanger said she just beamed with pride.
Miles’ parents said they are glad the incident is opening people’s eyes to being more inclusive of people with disabilities.
“That’s all anybody ever wanted,” Ambridge said.
