Dolls with Disabilities

 
Today, the UK Times came out with an article on “Disability Dolls.” This piece by Carol Midgley explores the recent boom of dolls with disabilities, particularly dolls with Down Syndrome.  

In the past few years, the toy industry has been waking up to the fact that it makes good financial sense to cater for overlooked consumer groups.

But Helga Parks, who is one of the few people producing Down's syndrome dolls, insists that money is not the motivating force for her (she sells around 2,000 dolls a year at $50 each - a nice annual earner of around $100,000). Many years ago in Germany, she says, she watched the face of her late niece, Angela, who had Down's, light up when she was given a doll with facial features like her own to play with. Angela, who died at the age of 9, pointed to her doll and said: “This is me.” Such toys are used in kindergartens in Germany to educate children about, and to destigmatise, disability. “It was very touching,” Parks says. “It made me realise how important toys like this are to help build self-esteem for kids with Down's.” (Midgley)

Parks, the creator and operator of downsyndromedolls.com, sells these dolls on her website, along with “Chemo Friends” (hairless dolls for children undergoing chemotherapy) and “Anatomical Teddy” (with viewable body parts like the kidneys and the stomach to serve as a visual guide to explain medical procedures to children who need surgery). Another website that sells dolls with Down Syndrome is Downi Creations, by Donna Moore.

These dolls have received both positive and negative reviews. Some believe that children with Down Syndrome or other disabilities enjoy owning a doll “like them,” while others say these dolls only serve to promote differences and that children with disabilities would rather play with a doll without any disabilities.

Do you have any thoughts on these dolls?