Crippie Rolls Down Memory Lane

Hey Y'all!

I'm soooooooooooo sorry that I've been MIA for the past few days. When I jinx myself and get sick I realllllllllllllyyyyyyyy jinx myself and sick. Yeahhh, Crippie has a massive head cold. On the bright side, it inadvertently gave me an idea for a blog post. Yay for massive head colds!
Crippie was trying to distract herself from the whole "my nose sounds like a trumpet" thing by browsing Pinterest and I came across a dandy little image. It's Becky, Barbie's cripple friend!

Crippie was so excited when she this Becky doll. Why? Well, Becky was manufactured in 1998, when Crippie was 10 years old. Crippie totally had this Becky doll, and I have very fond memories of having a cripple barbie. At that point in my life I didn't know anyone with a disability, so at times it was hard to cope with the fact that I was "different". Having a toy with a totally kick ass red wheelchair with holographic wheels helped me feel that I was not alone and that is was ok to be disabled. Alas, the Mattel company stopped producing Becky dolls a year or so after their release after people complained that Becky could not fit into any of Barbie's dollhouses. While I can understand how people would be pissed that their doll couldn't be used with a lot of Barbie's accessories, at that age I was just happy she existed. I would love to see the Mattel company just make a wheelchair that could be used for any Barbie. That way any girl could make any Barbie be more like them.

Becky was not my only crippled doll. Crippie also has a crippled American Girl Doll. Around the time that Becky was released (me thinks a year or two before but I'm not sure) The American Girl company made a wheelchair for their dolls. Naturally Crippie had (still has) an American Girl doll in a wheelchair. I absolutely loved how she had a totally kick ass blue wheelchair. There are two really awesome details about the American Girl wheelchair... 1) it was rather well made, mine is still intact as the picture shows, 2) THEY STILL MAKE 'EM. An updated version of my doll's wheelchair can be obtained HERE. As far as toy companies go... I've found that they are one of the more "cripple friendly" companies. Their current "girl of the year" doll has a learning disability and befriends a girl in a wheelchair.
At that age, my dolls were sorta like my friends, and to have friends that were going through the same things I was  definitely helped me cope with my illness. I do wish more toy companies were "cripple friendly". They really are rare and few in between. The only other "cripple friendly" toy company I can think of off the top of my head is the "Monster High" series, especially their zombie character who walks slower and occasionally will lose a limb. What about you guys? Do you know of any toys designed for disabled children?

Crippie's Tippie For Toy Companies - MAKE TOYS FOR CRIPPLES