����ý

Matilda Tawell was fitted with a hearing aid as a baby, but she didn't have a toy she could play with that reflected her disability.

Her mother Clare wasn't able to find any dolls on the market with a hearing aid just like her daughter. This gave her the idea to start a company adapting toys to represent different disabilities.

Clare made her very first doll for Matilda back in 2017 and her business has now received requests from countries around the world including America and Australia. She's made dolls with feeding tubes, cleft palates and even stoma bags.

"A couple of friends through the National Deaf Children's Society asked me to make one for them and by word of mouth, it kind of snowballed," she said.

Clare's company is a not-for-profit, which means she doesn't make any money from it.

"I'm not doing it to make money," she said. "This is just fulfilling the need that isn't being met."

Clare has seen first hand the impact her dolls have had on other children.

Eight-year-old Heidi is deaf in one ear and she wanted a doll with a hearing aid for her birthday.

"I didn't realise how different she felt about herself in comparison to others," her mother Ceri said.

Heidi was very pleased with her doll when it arrived and she's even taken it on holiday with her.

Clare's big hope is that toy manufacturers will take her idea and "run with it" so all children will have the opportunity to own a toy that represents them.

"I know first-hand how special and empowering these dolls can be to children," she said.