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Mom Shares Why ‘Representation Matters’ for Children with Disabilities
Lindsay Filcik’s daughter, Ivy, has Down syndrome. Now, Ivy has a doll that looks like her! Lindsay told Good Morning America that she believes, “it is important for children with disabilities to see themselves represented in the toys they play with.”
In her Instagram post, Filcik shared, “Every single human being deserves to see somebody who looks like them in movies, books, commercials, and toys. Unfortunately for far too long that has not been the case. People of all races, abilities, body types, genders, religions, etc. need to be represented in what we watch, read, and play with. Recently we are seeing steps to remedy this problem in the media and I appreciate that! Representation matters!”
“Imagine being a child with a disability and all you ever see are typical, able-bodied children. What message does that send you about yourself?,” she continued. “That you are ‘abnormal’. That you are not worthy of being shown to the world. I know you’re reading this cringing inside, because of course no child should ever be made to feel that way. Lack of representation also hurts those children who are represented. They grow up with the incredibly skewed perception that everybody looks like them. And anybody who doesn’t isn’t ‘normal’ and should be feared. That my friends is how racism and ableism can be perpetuated in our kids without us even realizing it. Representation matters!”
This viral post was greatly received by parents with disabled and non-disabled kids. “Several parents of children who don’t have disabilities told me they are adding a doll with a disability to their kids’ Christmas lists,” she told GMA. “They had just never thought of it before.”
It is important for all children to see themselves positively represented in toys, books or television. For children with disabilities, not seeing this can lead to isolation and low self-esteem. Seeing themselves reflected in different aspects of life is about more than just a toy, rather it’s displaying the powerful message that everyone needs to be included and celebrated. Thank you, Lindsay Filcik, for sharing this inspiring message and reminder that representation matters!