This Photographer Decided to Give a Group of Disabled Children Super Powers

By Brian Delpozo 3 min read

Josh Rossi has used his own camera-aided powers to make a group of kids afflicted with “disease and disabilities” feel super.

As the photographer explained in a piece written for Fulltime Photographer, Rossi, with his wife Roxanna and costume designer Julie Whiteley, teamed up for a project that would see them dress up several children dealing with health issues as the Justice League, and pose them in the same template as the posters for the upcoming Justice League film.

In dressing the kids like Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and others, the trio hoped to “showcase [the kids] inner strength in a way that would bring a smile to their faces as well as others struggling with similar issues,” according to Josh Rossi.

As for why they chose the DC Comics group as opposed to other relevant pop culture characters, Rossi told Your Daily Dish, “I decided to pick the Justice League because they are the most relevant super heroes at the moment and I knew people would take notice.”

According to Rossi, Roxanna spent months assembling a group of children for the shoot. Some of them, like 5-year-old Kayden Kinckle, matched up with the characters they’d be portraying.

As Rossi explains, Kinckle, “…was born with Omphalocele, which caused his internal organs to grow outside his navel. The doctors told his mom to abort him because he was going to be in bad shape but instead she decided to save her son even though it meant causing his legs to be amputated.”

The youngster’s photo see’s him dressed as League member Cyborg, a DC Comics character whose father replaced most of his body with metal and robotics in order to save his life after an accident.

The other children involved all have equally inspiring stories, including 3-year-old Wonder Woman stand-in Sofie Loftus, who suffers from a type of cancer known as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, and 7-year old Zaiden Stolrow, whose ADHD allows him relate to speedster The Flash.

There’s also Teagan Pettit, whose hypoplastic left Hhart syndrome can’t stop him from being Superman, and 5-year-old nueroblastoma patient Simon Fullmer who wears the cape and cowl of Batman. Finally, there’s 2-year-old cancer patient Mataese Manuma, who rounds out the group as Aquaman.

Each child was presented with a poster-sized blow up of themselves in costume, which proved to be a delight for each of them according to reaction videos shared on YouTube.

Soon after Rossi shared the photos and story on Fulltime Photographer, it was quickly picked up by other media outlets and went viral, particularly among comic book fans.

“The reaction has been extremely positive and emotional for a lot of people since I released the series. I have heard from a lot of people who not only admire the project but also those who have kids with disabilities. The story really touched them and also inspired many, ” Rossi told Your Daily Dish about the attention the post has received.