Wisconsin Doll Maker Creates Unique Dolls for Children with Disabilities

Amy Jandersevits, a doll maker who lives in Wisconsin and owns the small business “A Doll Like Me,” wanted to create something that will inspire children with special conditions to love themselves and their bodies for what they are instead of struggling to look as “normal” as possible throughout their entire lives. With this in mind, she started making unique dolls that look exactly as their owners, even to the smallest details. The only shared feature is a radiant smile found on every doll.

Amy was working as a social assistant in a pediatric oncology unit few years ago when she felt that there’s a lack of diversity in the dolls sold in stores around the country and this made children with disabilities feel excluded and unacceptable. As she explains, kids don’t need dolls that are “perfect little plastic mannequins. Instead, they need and deserve dolls that, among other things, will make them feel better about themselves.”

Her goal is to eventually convert her business to a non-profit organization and deliver dolls to children free of charge. In the meanwhile, she partnered up with a children’s hospital, designing dolls for its patients to remind them just how amazingly special and love-worthy they are.