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![down syndrome mental disability trisomy trisomie disabilities chromosomes 21 adoption single mother handicap handicapped people french france siblings family structures laure d'Utruy d utruy photographer documentary reportage]()
Saint-Julien-de-Concelles, France, 2017.
When asked about their future, Élodie says she knows what her children are capable of and is aware of the difficulties they will face. The 40 year-old single mother lives in a house in the outskirts of Nantes, western France. In 2008, she adopted her first child Nathanaël. Then, Magdaléna and Abellino joined the family. They were all born with Down’s Syndrome. “I do not want to put pressure on them. I want them to grow up and blossom. We will see how they develop and what they will be able to do. The important thing is that they are well-grounded, and maintain a level of independence. We can cover their shortfalls together. I want to adapt with them and be open to what they will become.”
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“Raising a child with an intellectual disability, such as Down Syndrome, on your own, is easier than raising a healthy child in today’s world.” It is through these words that Élodie, a 40 years-old French single mother, explains the choice she has made. In 2008, she adopted her first child, Nathanaël. Then Magdaléna and Abellino joined the family. All of them were born with Down’s Syndrome.
Since the first adoption, Élodie has been fighting for the integration of her children within French society. Her purposes include the equal access to education in spite of the lack of adapted structures. This failure was denounced in a report by the UN (2019) quoting 12 000 disabled children excluded from the education system in France.
The siblings also struggle with the stigma of being different and prejudices about their condition. Even so, together with their mother, they prove that difference is nothing but bountiful.
Since 2014, I have been documenting this family. Their unique story is the focal point towards an open dialogue around the situation of young people affected by mental disabilities. My work provides an intimate insight into the under-reported challenges those children & families face, and relate how they respond to issues in relation to their civic rights
- recipient of the National Geographic Society - COVID-19 Emergency Funding, 2021
- shortlisted by the IWPA for the 2019 edition
- projected at Visa pour l'Image, International Festival of Photojournalism in 2018 (Perpignan, FRANCE )- shortlisted by the Lucie Foundation for the Emerging Scholarship in 2018 (Los Angeles, USA)
Full portfolio is available upon demand -
![down syndrome mental disability trisomy trisomie disabilities chromosomes 21 adoption single mother handicap handicapped people french france siblings family structures laure d'Utruy d utruy photographer documentary reportage]()
Abellino is interacting with a child as he attends a music festival with his family in 2014. “During early childhood, there are less prejudices. The complexity of relationships and people’s judgement are tougher in the adult world. It is important to let simple and spontaneous relationships grow during early childhood to enable children to become more respectful adults, so they can understand that difference is wealth” explains his adoptive mother Élodie.
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Since the first adoption, Élodie has been fighting for the integration of her children within French society. Her purposes include the equal access to education in spite of the lack of adapted structures. This failure was denounced in a report by the UN (2019) quoting 12 000 disabled children excluded from the education system in France as of today. Inclusive education is the approach currently developed by the French ministry of national education and Sophie Cluzel, the Secretary of State in charge of disabled persons. Yet the access to education in the country and its restructuring are complex. Each of Élodie’s children are attending schools through a different system. Nathanaël went to mainstream school for a year before entering the Medico-Educational Institute (MEI) that he now attends every day, as seen in the photo. The education institution is dedicated to mentally disabled children and teenagers. (Nantes, France, 2018).
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![down syndrome mental disability trisomy trisomie disabilities chromosomes 21 adoption single mother handicap handicapped people french france siblings family structures laure d'Utruy d utruy photographer documentary reportage]()
Pornic, France, 2018
Élodie and her children are visiting friends at the seaside during the summer.“Of course healthy kids will have other expectations. The more they grow up, the more they will question life, values. My children explore life’s questions, but in a very different way. In a very simple way. It is difficult to explain it with words, it is something you experience daily. We must be patient, tolerant with others’ remarks, people’s looks. But my kids are at the heart of their own lives and conscious of what we will be able and want to pass on to others.” -
![down syndrome mental disability trisomy trisomie disabilities chromosomes 21 adoption single mother handicap handicapped people french france siblings family structures laure d'Utruy d utruy photographer documentary reportage]()
The siblings Nathanaël, eleven-year-old and Abellino, six-year-old, are seen during a quiet moment before diner in 2017. Abellino is going to school through the inclusive education system. He joined a mainstream school in September 2016 with the support of special education services and programs.
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Magdaléna, eight-years old, is the second child Élodie adopted. She has struggled to find a place in school for her daughter. Denied applications due to lack of places and unadapted structures not fitting the girl’s needs were part of the difficulties. The young girl eventually joined school through an ULIS class, an adapted unit for disabled people within the mainstream French school system. She needs the support of an educational assistant to do so.
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Élodie is hugging her children Magdaléna and Abellino as they are about to undergo an ear surgery in 2014. The disabled children need specific medical care. They weekly visit a physiotherapist and a speech therapist. “Of course our life’s organisation is complex, we run after medical appointments, psychomotor development sessions, taxi rides for the schools and childcare centres that must be adapted to the children….But it does not measure up to what they experience and what I can bring them” explains their adoptive mother Élodie.
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![down syndrome mental disability trisomy trisomie disabilities chromosomes 21 adoption single mother handicap handicapped people french france siblings family structures laure d'Utruy d utruy photographer documentary reportage]()
Marne-la-Vallée, France. 2017
Magdaléna is having fun with her family at Sleeping Beauty attraction in Disneyland Paris. Thanks to the French association „Superrêve“ making the dreams of disabled children come true, they are visiting the amusement park for the first time of their life. -
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Saint-Herblain, France, 2018
Nathanaël is surrounded by friends and family during a party organised by his mother. With more than a hundred guests,amongst them many disabled children and teenagers, they celebrate diversity and love. On the wall in the backgroundhangs the french national motto “liberty, equality, fraternity”, symbol of the country’s values.
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