Mother’s campaign leads to special needs dolls

Author: CBS News
Published: Updated:

LONDON (CBS) – Melissa Mostyn is on a mission to show her daughter, Isobel, that it’s alright to be different.

The English mother of two was born deaf, so when Isobel was born with cerebral palsy, she knew what kind of stereotypes the 6-year-old would face.

“Disabled people lead full lives,” she said. “They don’t live in the hospital. They go to parties, they socialize with their friends.”

Melissa used lollipop sticks to build a mini-walker for one of Isobel’s dolls. The creation resembled the walker Isobel uses.

She then created a ‘toy like me’ campaign, urging companies to bring diversity to the toy box. British company ‘Makies’ accepted the challenge.

The company, which has received hundreds of orders within the past few weeks, uses 3-D printers to customize accessories like crutches, wheelchairs and hearing aids.

“It’s clearly a wonderful thing to do, so the more companies that do it, the better,” said company founder Alice Taylor.

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