About 50 special-needs children and their families gathered Sunday afternoon in Kiwanis Park for free portraits and other activities organized by local photographer Laura Schumpert.

The event, called "Lyndon's Shining Light," was created to help families with special-needs children and to remember Schumpert's son Lyndon, who died in December. Schumpert said pictures are important to have, but special-needs children might not be comfortable with the process or might not have the time.

"My son Lyndon had autism, and local photographers, we preach to our clients how important photos are. ... When everything is done, that's all you have, is pictures," she said. "I think it's important to help do this for other parents."

Schumpert and her team of four other area photographers spent about 15 minutes with each child, and she said the tight scheduling was necessary to make it as easy as possible on the subjects.

"Each child had no waiting for anybody. ... We could have just said, 'Hey everyone come show up,'" she said. "But stimulation is a big thing for these kids. If there's too much going on, they can get overstimulated easily. Then they wouldn't have been able to enjoy the experience at all."

Instead, Schumpert corresponded with parents for weeks to properly schedule the event.

One of the children who had her portrait taken was 6-year-old Molly Bishop, whose mother said the family came down from Carbondale, Illinois, for the event because they typically wouldn't be able to get a portrait of her.

"It is very challenging to get a photo of Molly because she is hearing-impaired and has Down syndrome," Laura Bishop said. "That's not something that most photographers are prepared for or used to."

But the photographers had bubbles, helpers and refreshments on hand to help make the children grin. Each child also received a balloon tied to a jar of Play-Doh.

"Balloons were [Lyndon's] number one favorite thing, and Play-Doh was probably number two," Schumpert said.

The day was special to parents as well. One mother even cried a bit because the day was so meaningful.

"Being a parent is hard, don't get me wrong; being a special needs parent is harder," Schumpert said. "Pictures and fun stuff are low on the list when you're just trying to maintain. I couldn't think of anything better that I could give as a gift than that."

Schumpert said the families will receive their portraits in the coming weeks. Although Molly seemed content with the refreshments, her parents said the portraits will be something they'll treasure.

"This is an opportunity for families that we don't have usually," Bishop said. "For this type of opportunity, I couldn't pass this up."

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627