Dolls

[Guest guest]

On AOL tonight:

_Dolls with special needs cause controversy_

(http://www.parentdish.com/2008/07/08/dolls-with-special-needs-cause-controversy\

/)

by _Bethany _ (http://www.parentdish.com/bloggers/bethany-sanders/)

Jul 8th 2008 4:00PM

Though I spent a dozen years working in special education classrooms with

preschoolers and toddlers, it never once crossed my mind that the dolls my

students were playing with in the housekeeping area often looked nothing like

the

kids themselves. They were just kids playing with dolls, doing what kids do,

even if those kids had diagnoses that other children didn't -- Down's

syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy.

But some doll makers, many of them parents of special needs children

themselves, think that children with disabilities might benefit from having a

doll

that looks like them. And so _they created dolls like these._

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1032600/Parents-fury-Downs-Syndrome-d\

olls-designed-h

elp-children-deal-disability.html) With the best of intentions, I believe,

they made dolls with Down's syndrome, including a heart surgery scar, dolls

who have been through chemo, bald and with a catheter port, dolls in

wheelchairs, dolls with leg braces.

But the toys have some parents of disabled children fuming. One mother said

of the dolls, " They are totally one dimensional -- they can't show that a

child with Down's syndrome can be funny, bright, and articulate. " They worry

that these dolls pigeon-hole kids with special needs, that they put the focus

back on their disability.

Other parents think that the dolls are a good idea, but need a little

tweaking -- fashion dolls who have special needs but still wear trendy clothing

or

action heroes who still save lives despite their own personal hurdles, for

instance. Though I can't really decide how I feel about these dolls, I think I

tend to agree with these parents the most. Childhood is about fantasy, about

make-believe, and about imagination.

What about you? Do you think these dolls with special needs are appropriate

or even helpful? Or do you think that they focus too much on a child's

special needs and ignore what is truly special about a child?

(http://www.parentdish.com/2008/07/08/dolls-with-special-needs-cause-controversy\

/?icid=200100397x1205190338x1200262841#poll16631)

What do you think about these dolls? Where can I get one?Totally

inappropriateOther -- share with us in comments.Vote

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