"But none of these dolls look like me": Dolls for Downs

Growing up, I remember receiving the American Girl doll Kirsten for Christmas.  At the time, there were only 3, yes three, American Girl dolls to choose from.  There was no red-headed, curly-haired doll like me.  With freckles.  In fact, you couldn't really find dolls with red hair in general.  Now, you can customize the dolls.  Meaning, you can pick out their skin tone, hair color, hair length, freckles, eye color, etc.  You can create a doll to look like your child . . . provided she/he is deficient in that extra chromosome.

This is why I am so excited about  Dolls for Downs!

©Dolls for Downs: Hannah proto-type

This is Hannah.  She is stunning, isn't she?  Beautiful almond-shaped eyes.  A perfectly round head, with chubby cheeks, and small, flattened mid-face. A small nose.  The whisper of a smile.  A face that looking back at me, resembles my darling Ellie.  My beautiful, blond-hair, blue-eyed munchkin who happens to have Down syndrome.

Can you just picture the blonde doll?  Like my Ellie? Maybe more like Ellie when she had bangs? I cannot wait until the blond, blue-eyed doll is revealed.

My daughter and so many others rocking their designer genes can now have a doll (boy or girl) that looks like them--complete with sandal-gap toe, the single palmar crease on the hand, and a post-heart surgery scar (if requested).  Wheel chairs, trachs, feeding tubes, and leg braces are also available to truly make this doll "just like" your child.  Can you tell that I am excited?!

©Dolls for Downs: sandal gap toes!

Hannah is not just a doll.  This durable, beauty is meant to be played with and the doll's creator, Connie, designed her so that she would also function as a therapy toy.  Can you guess that a mother designed this toy?  A mother who loves her daughter so much that she not only designed a doll to look just like her daughter, but to also cleverly sneak in a bit of Occupational Therapy.  Now, that is a true mama bear!

The clothing that comes with the dolls are meant to create a sensory experience with their varied textures and they allow for manipulation of buttons, zippers, buckles, and velcro.  Fine motor skills will be further developed as your child dresses his/her dolls and works his/her fingers over those ties and buttons.  These dolls are made to be played with and even get wet.

©Dolls for Downs: Logo

Hannah and her friends have been a labor of love.  The idea was inspired by the Connie's daughter Hannah, when flipping through a doll catalog she [Hannah] said "“‘Mom, none of these dolls look like me. Not one of them.’

Well, Miss Hannah, now there are a series of dolls that look like you!

Visit: Dolls for Downs to learn more about the doll and about pre-ordering.  The projected release date is May 2013.  I do not know if I can wait that long!  After all, I anticipate ordering the blonde-haired, blue-eyed doll that coincidentally happens to be named "Ellie".




www.dollsfordowns.org
www.facebook.com/DollsforDowns/
@DollsforDowns




*I have received nothing for writing this post.  This is just my honest, excited opinion on the awesomeness of this doll.**

** All doll photos are courtesy of ©DollsforDowns