Six-year-old 'Rosie Boo' inspires new doll created for World Down Syndrome Day
Watch Juliette Fletcher's report
A six year-old girl from Wiltshire is the inspiration for a brand new doll created for World Down Syndrome Day.
The company made the doll after hearing how much Rosie Barnett loved their toys. For every sale a donation will be made to a local charity.
In summer 2020, during lockdown, dad Jason Kneen and mum Hannah Barnett built Rosie and her brothers and sisters a life-sized version of the company's Lottie Doll Treehouse.
Six-year-old Rosie, known as Rosie Boo, has Down's Syndrome and, when Lottie Dolls CEO Ian Harkin heard about her and how much she loved his toys, he offered to make a doll based on her.
The company is dedicated to diversity and inclusion and, in 2017, made a doll with a cochlear implant. It has also produced the world’s first ever doll with autism.
A £1 donation from every sale of the Rosie Boo doll will be made to the family's local charity, Andover Twenty1, which supports people with Down’s Syndrome and their families.
What is Down's Syndrome and World Down Syndrome Day?
People with Down’s Syndrome are born with an extra chromosome. Chromosomes are apart of our DNA and under the microscope look a bit like pairs of socks. People with Down’s Syndrome have three copies of Chromosome 21, instead of the typical pair.
World Down Syndrome Day is marked on the 21st day of the 3rd month. On 21 March every year, we celebrate by wearing brightly coloured odd socks, just like the chromosomes.
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