{"id":9456,"date":"2016-12-18T13:21:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-18T13:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2016\/12\/18\/dolls-with-disabilities-escape-the-toy-hospital-go-mainstream\/"},"modified":"2016-12-18T13:21:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T13:21:00","slug":"dolls-with-disabilities-escape-the-toy-hospital-go-mainstream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/dolls-with-disabilities-escape-the-toy-hospital-go-mainstream\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolls With Disabilities Escape The Toy Hospital, Go Mainstream"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Neda Ulaby<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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Dominika Tamley and her doll “Isebelle” ride the train together in Chicago. Like Dominika, Isebelle has a hearing aid. “She’s like a mini-me,” Dominika says. Kevin Irvine<\/strong> hide caption<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kevin Irvine<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When Dominika Tamley chose “Isebelle,” her American Girl doll, she picked a toy whose hair and eye color matched her own. But the 10-year-old is quick to point out that’s not the only way the doll resembles the real child who plays with her.<\/p>\n

“She’s like a mini-me,” Tamley explained with pride. “Because she has a hearing aid and I have a hearing aid.”<\/p>\n

American Girl has for years offered a wide variety of accessories reflecting a range of disabilities<\/a>. Arm crutches, leg braces, a sporty red wheelchair and allergy-free lunch sets. You can order a doll without hair \u2014 like a child with cancer \u2014 or one outfitted with a diabetes kit that includes insulin pumps, pens, glucose tablets and a blood sugar monitor.<\/p>\n

“The designer who worked on that had Type 1 diabetes, and it was a really personal item for him to create,” said Stephanie Spanos, a public relations manager at American Girl. The designers developed the diabetes kit with the input of doctors, nurses and dietitians at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wis., Spanos added. “We introduced that at the very beginning of 2016 and it’s been in and out of stock all year.”<\/p>\n

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