Mattel Inc.
Mattel’s line of inclusive Barbie dolls. In the center, the new Barbie with autism
The new Barbie with autism, with a gaze slightly averted to the side, wears a loose dress and flat shoes. It comes with a tablet and “noise canceling headphones”. It was a challenge to create a doll that reflected the way people with autism feel and process the world around them.
The North American toy manufacturer presented this Monday a Barbie with autismthe latest member of her line of dolls designed to celebrate the diversity.
The new doll joins a collection that already includes one and one Blind Barbieas well as a Barbie and a Ken with vitiligo, among other models that the toy manufacturer created to make its fashion dolls more inclusive.
Mattel claimed to have developed the doll over more than 18 months in partnership with the – Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights and better media representation of people with autism.
According to a Mattel press release, the goal was to create a doll that reflected some of the ways in which people with autism can feel and process the world around you.
This was a challenge because autism encompasses a wide range of behaviors and difficulties that vary widely in degree, with many of the features associated with the disturbance not being immediately visible, explains Noor PervezASAN’s community engagement manager, who worked closely with Mattel on the Barbie prototype.
Like many disabilities, “autism doesn’t just look one way,” Pervez said. “But we can try to show some of the ways in which autism expresses itself.”
Characteristics of Barbie with Autism
Autistic Barbie presents joints in the elbows and wristswhich allows simulate the “vote” — the flapping of hands and other manual gestures that some members of the autism community use to process sensory information or express excitement.
The doll was designed with a look slightly averted to the sidewhich reflects the way some members of the autistic community try to avoid direct eye contact.
Each doll has a “spinner fidget” on one of the fingers (which, according to the statement, works as “a sensory valve that can help reduce stress and improve concentration”), headphones with noise cancellation and a tablet — both pink, too.
Autistic Barbie’s clothing is also sensitive to sensory stimuli, says the statement: the doll wears an “A”-shaped dress with purple stripes, a wide cut, with short sleeves and flowing skirtwhich provides less contact between the fabric and the skin. Purple shoes complete the setwith flat soles to promote stability and ease of movement.
ZAP // Mattel Inc.
Barbie with autism has noise-canceling headphones, a tablet and a Fidget Spinner
The development team discussed How should the doll dress?: if with tight or loose clothingexplains Pervez. Some people with autism wear loose clothing because they are sensitive to the feel of fabric seams, while others wear tight-fitting clothing to give them a sense of where their body is.
The team ended up choosing an A-shaped dresswith short sleeves and a fluid skirt, which provides less contact between the fabric and the skin.
The addition of the doll with autism to the line Barbie Fashionistas It also became an opportunity for Mattel to create a doll with facial features inspired by company employees in India.
Mattel presented its first doll with Down syndrome in 2023 and launched a Barbie that represents a person with type 1 diabetes last summer. The Fashionistas line also includes a Barbie and a Ken with a prosthetic leg, and a .
“Barbie has always sought reflect the world that children see and the possibilities they imagine, and we are proud to introduce our first autistic Barbie as part of this ongoing work,” said Jamie Cygielman, global director of dolls at Mattel, in the release.
The doll has been available at Mattel since this Monday, where it is indicated as a point of sale, for a price of 10.99 dollars (about 9.30 euros). At the time of this edition, it was “currently unavailable”.
