How important are dolls to the well being of your children? And should those dolls be 'normal' dolls, or should you buy your children special needs dolls or down syndrome dolls?

Most experts agree that Special Needs Dolls and Down Syndrome Dolls not only help normalize doll play for your child but also with your children's peers as well. But are these dolls right for you - and your child?

While most of our guests have come to this site knowing that they want these products, we recognize that some of you are not quite sure what to think of 'dolls with downs,' or whether a doll's wheelchair is the 'right gift.'

Fortunately, you don't have to decide in a vacuum! Pattycake doll has often been consulted about Down Syndrome Dolls and other Special Needs doll toys. Here are a couple of links to recent articles on just that subject. The first, titled My new doll has Down's syndrome was published in Canada's Macleans Magazine last fall and speaks to some of the opinions surrounding these issues, as does a more recent article from Time Magazine titled New Dolls on the Block provides a European perspective on special needs and downs dolls.

Obviously, different families will have different opinions on these dolls. But we're here to tell you, your children will love them - we've never gotten one back!
 
Down Syndrome Doll - Ethnic

The special needs dolls and downs syndrome toys on these pages fill a special purpose, and are for special needs children, downs children, their siblings and their friends.

While shopping on our site we remind you to please don't pre-judge -- look at these dolls through your child's eyes. They don't care about colors or shapes or 'accuracy.' What they see is simply a doll to love.

You know, we have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Parents occasionally use it; children - never!




 

Add to cart or click on picture for more information

	Quan.		Description	Price
1.			Little Lovelies Soft Balls If you have always wanted to play 'Catch', but they were afraid of the ball... here are the perfect wheelchair, 'mat' or 'floor play' balls for you and your child! Safe from birth+	$16.50
2.			Skwish® Classic You don't have a Skwish­­? Why not? Our #1 development toy!	$15.00
3.			Royal Jungle™ Zebra Blocks What a silly Zebra - but they'll be having too much fun to realize that it's a learning toy!	$25.00
4.			Mind-Shapes® It's all here! An endless source of stimulating play for all ages and ability levels!	$20.00
5.			Down Syndrome Girl Doll The beauty of your daughter in her own Down Syndrome doll, a child she can nurture and love like all little girls. WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$27.50
6.			Down Syndrome Boy Doll The miracle soft-sculpt doll - a gift of love for your special DS child. WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$27.50
7.			Feel Better Frog Constant trips for treatment are endured a whole lot better when there's a companion to share your journey. WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$40.00
8.			Down Syndrome Girl Doll - Ethnic Unique and special just like your daughter! First ever ethnic rag dolls especially for Down Syndrome children WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$27.50
9.			Down Syndrome Boy Doll - Ethnic All the soft sculpt features of our special Down Syndrome dolls in an 'Ethnic' version WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$27.50
10.			Doll's Guide Dog Your child's best friend can now be part of imaginative and nurturing play. WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$19.95
11.			Dress Up Pup Dressing Skills, Fine Motor Skills, Tactile exploration, Containerizing, Hand-eye co-ordination,	$24.95
12.			Trendy Wendy™ (Learn to Dress) Shhh!! If you don't tell your daughter, she'll never know that this is anything more than a great play doll! WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$32.00
13.			Wheelchair Sheepskins Increase comfort with our all natural, organically cured sheepskins. Recommended by Doctors to help reduce bedsores and other friction point wounds.	$79.95
14.			Doll's Wheelchair Doll's (and Teddybear's) Wheel Chair. For dolls as brave as your children. WARNING! Choking hazard: May contain small parts, not for children under 3 years.	$30.00
15.			Doll's Walker Bright and cheerful doll's walker!	$30.00

All prices in US Dollars

The Secret Powers of Dolls

Playtime meets the needs of the child to get out of himself or herself, to role play, to learn nurturing skills by giving instead of receiving; for caring for something outside of themselves. All the positive reasons children play with dolls are especially powerful when the doll can take on the role of the special needs child.

Children all over the world love dolls and stuffed toys. All ages and all abilities... it's one of the universal truths about children. And the closer the doll comes to meeting the self image of the child - the easier it is for your child to identify with her doll - the greater the benefits of play.

In the case of our beloved DS Children, all the milestones associated with doll play are still there, even if we reach them a little later.
 

Already have dolls?

Of course you don't have to buy our disability dolls, you can buy just our doll wheelchair and /or our doll guide dog and use your own dolls or toys for a special needs child.

Our toys for special needs children do have the advantage of being the right size for each other; our disability dolls are completely machine wash and dry. Our disability doll's wheelchair and disability guide dog doll will also fit many of our African American baby dolls, Asian baby dolls and Hispanic baby dolls throughout the rest of this site.

A special message....

One of our customers sent us this and asked that we share it with you. They found this particularly moving, but had no way to share it with others on a site. We agreed. The material is protected under copyright © 2001-2007 Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center. It is by Rabbi Aron Moss of Austalia.

Why Does G-d Create Severely Handicapped Babies?
By Aron Moss

Question:
A friend gave birth to a baby with a rare condition that has rendered her severely handicapped. She is not expected to live much past her tenth birthday. I just can't understand why G-d does that. If life has a purpose, what is the purpose of such a short and sad life?

Answer:
Every birth is a gamble. A soul enters the world innocent and pure. But it may not stay that way. This world is a maze of diverging pathways, both good and evil, and the choice is ours which way we go. Once a soul enters a body, it is free and therefore vulnerable to corruption. While acts of good elevate the soul, every act of evil makes a blemish on the soul.

Some souls are so lofty, it simply isn't worth the gamble. These souls are too precious to risk being compromised by life in a body. They are too high to come down to this world. But the other option, not to be sent down at all, to never reach this world, would mean that we would miss out on meeting these holy and lofty souls and hearing their message.

So these souls do come down. But in order to be protected from the potential evils of an earthly existence, they are sent down into a body that will not compromise their holiness. They enter this world in a form that is above sin, above evil. From a purely physical perspective we call them "disabled" or "handicapped"; from the perspective of the soul they are protected. They will never sin. Their sojourn in this world is often brief, and in terms of this world may seem sad. But they have retained their purity. And they have fulfilled their mission.

These special souls remind us that true love doesn't need a reason. We often love others for what they give us -- we love our children because they are cute, smart, and high achievers; we love our spouse for the pleasure and contentment they give us; we love our parents because they care for us. This is love, but it is not pure.

When a child is born that will never achieve worldly success, cannot provide the usual source of pride for her parents, all extraneous reasons to love her fall away and what's left is the purest love that there can be. These children are lovable not because of what they do for you, and not because of what they will one day become, but simply because they are.

These pure souls remind us what love should be. Only such a pure and holy soul can elicit such a pure and holy emotion. We can only stand in awe of them, and the parents and friends who care for them. And we can only thank them all, for giving us a glimpse of what true love really means.