Melbourne mother Maria Kentley is now contributing to the Toy Like Me campaign, which advocates for toy makers to better represent children living with a disability, through her not-for-profit 'Hope Toys'.
Dancing, singing, blowing kisses and playing with toys are all part of the joys of being a little girl.
But for 4-year-old Millie Grant, standard dolls did not quite fit the bill.
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That's because she has Down Syndrome and was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of three.
"It's pretty special," Kate Grant.
"When we feel guilty bringing Barbie dolls in with long, blonde Rapunzel hair when Millie is sitting in a hospital with her bald little head ... to have a doll that looks like her is pretty special."
Millie's particular personalised doll comes with its very own wig.
The look-alike doll was a gift for Millie as she was losing hair at the peak of her treatment.
And it was thanks to mother of four, Maria Kentley.
Millie Grant plays with her toys. Source: SBS
The dolls are made to order and cover a range of disabilities.
"I might get an email from a parent saying 'my daughter has spina bifida, can you make a doll for her in a wheelchair with leg splits and a scar on the back?'"
"Another parent might say 'can you make a doll with a missing arm or a prosthetic leg?'," said Maria.
So, what inspires her? Maria said it was her two autistic sons.
"For me, I want him to be proud of who he is and look at the word autism or autistic as part of who he is and be proud of that," she said.
As autism doesn't have any obvious physical characteristics, Maria Kentley emblazoned "I'm autistic and awesome" across the front of the doll's jumper.
It's believed dolls like these will help children attain an acceptance in the wider community.
Clinical Psychologist Lauren Wertheimer said: "According the the Australian Bureau of Statistics, one in every six children have a disability. So by having these dolls, it allows children with a disability to feel valued and important."
Maria Kentley with her son. Source: SBS
Each personalised doll can take Maria around 15 hours to make and is then sold for about $35 to cover the costs of materials.
The joy they bring these children is priceless, said Maria.
"The best part of this job is hearing the feedback and just hearing stories from parents saying, I can't believe how this doll has really boosted her self-esteem."
Stephanie Gotlib is the chief executive of Children and Young People with Disability Australia.
"There's a lot of myths and stigma still around disability and I think this is a really important way of addressing that," she said.
"It gives children the chance just to explore, be part of their community, to incorporate that into their play, which is an essential part of development."
