Mattel's Newest Barbie Is Autistic
It’s Barbie’s world, we just live in it. And that world just keeps getting bigger—this week with Mattel’s announcement of the first-ever autistic Barbie doll, developed with guidance from the nonprofit Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN).
The new addition “helps to expand what inclusion looks like in the toy aisle and beyond because every child deserves to see themselves in Barbie,” said Mattel’s global head of dolls Jamie Cygielman in a press release.
Special features of the latest Barbie include articulated wrists for stimming (short for self-stimulating behavior and referring to repetitive actions), hand flapping, and other hand gestures sometimes used to process information or express excitement, and a slightly sideways gaze to reflect how some people with autism may avoid direct eye contact.
She’s also armed with accessories—including a fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones, and a tablet with symbol-based Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) apps—and she’s wearing sensory-sensitive, loose-fitting clothing.
“During our meetings with Mattel, we talked about how there are many ways that autistic people express ourselves — autism doesn’t have just one look,” said ASAN in a press release about the doll. “While one doll won’t be able to represent every way an autistic person can be, we wanted to share some of them! We think it’s especially important for kids to see some of themselves in these dolls.”
The doll is part of the Barbie Fashionistas collection, also home to Barbies who are blind or have Type 1 Diabetes or Down syndrome.
Mattel’s Instagram post on the new release, liked more than 45,000 times, had many appreciative comments. One mom wrote: “As an autistic mother to a non-verbal daughter this is literally everything we could have asked for! Thanks for representing us so beautifully!”
Added another fan, “This feels like being seen in a way I never was as a kid. Representation like this would’ve changed my whole childhood. Thank you for creating an autistic doll that’s joyful, sensory aware, and made with so much care, I love her and I love myself a little more as well… My inner child is crying!”