Creative teacher designs inclusive dolls

To start the 2019 school year, a California teacher decided to buy dolls for her preschool and kindergarten students. But none of the dolls looked like her students. Her students are deaf or hard of hearing. Many of them have hearing aids or cochlear implants. A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is implanted near the ear. It partially restores hearing. The teacher knew her students liked toys they could relate to. She painted colorful, glittery hearing aids and cochlear implants onto the dolls. They were a huge hit in the classroom and on social media.