Recently, Good Morning America demonstrated the importance of showing children with disabilties examples of diversity in the media.

Carolyn Anderson shared with the popular morning show how her 4-year-old-daughter Maren was literally mesmerized by an ad from Ulta Beauty that features a young woman in a wheelchair.

Maren herself is in a wheelchair, because of her infantile epileptic encephalopathy, spinocerebellar ataxia, and pontocerebellar hypoplasia diagnoses, caused by a genetic mutation.

Carolyn captured this moment and put in on a Facebook post:

“Well Ulta, you absolutely stopped my girl in her tracks this evening,” 

Carolyn later shared with GMA that Maren had been practicing navigating her new wheelchair for about 3 months and only recently became more comfortable using it in public.

“She got to see herself in this picture, and that planted a seed for her to see that there is a place for kids like her in this world. She was included.”

For so many people with a disability or diagnosis, feeling seen and heard can be such a struggle. Add then on top of that the special struggles of someone with a rare disease diagnosis — it may be especially hard to feel included.

So bravo to Ulta Beauty for helping girls with disabilities feel included in this world. We need more of that!

Do you know of other ads that include or affect members of the rare disease community? Share your stories, thoughts, and hopes with the Patient Worthy!