Mattel have made an autistic Barbie

[IwishIwasacaterpillar]

I find this quite odd. Autism doesn’t have a look.
my child is autistic and I would not have bought them one when they were young

Do you have a link?

Ok.

Apparently she has a fidget spinner and noise cancelling headphones. So that’s her all sorted out then.

I assume it's just a label on the box?

It’s a standard Barbie with a fidget spinner, ear defenders and an AAC tablet. Nothing wild/unusual features etc. I think it’s a bad marketing ploy but no different to doing a ‘deaf’ Barbie that’s just wearing a hearing aid.

I saw a little bit of this earlier but didn't pay enough attention, did they show "autistic" Barbie what did she look like? I Just thought it was really odd,

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/autistic-barbie-doll-buy-name-b2898599.html

While I agree that it could be stigmatising it sounds like they have done their research.

wouldn’t have got it for my Asd dd but her sister would have loved a doll that had a communication aid and loose clothing like her dsis.

Ah ok thats her good to go as eh !

A barbie can be whatever the child playing with it wants it to be. Why do Mattel need to direct a child's play like that, surely encouraging imaginative play is far more beneficial to the child

Lego had 3 figures last year (1 regular minifig, 1 Friends minidoll, 1 Duplo) wearing sunflower lanyards (printed on).
This year they've made a separate part that's a sunflower lanyard for minifigs to wear.

What about

"wheelchair user Barbie"

Or

"Amputee Barbie"

Or

"Crohn's Barbie"
(Comes with realistic diarrhoea function)

Not to mention

"Mental Health Barbie"

🙄

Tbf i think it is about representation, and if a little girl has a doll that "looks like her" then she can play and interact with it comfortably, i think witn Autisim it is a broad spectrum that not all autism has a "look"

I work with autistic people and most do have a different look. They are always wanting to be recognised for it rather than people assuming they are NT, so people adjust to them and make allowances etc. Many would see this as being inclusive, so different strokes

Most of those already exist.

I just showed my 17 year old autistic daughter who actually likes Barbies.
She said "that's hilarious".

I am on the fence. Barbie has been producing dolls with disabilities for a long time and I know my friend’s daughter was delighted to see wheelchair Barbie as she is a wheelchair user.

No way . . . . .

I need links!

I guess it's like one poster above said.

Better to have a separate wheelchair/ crutch/ sunflower lanyard/ fidget spinner, headphones etc than one barbie that is disable or a barbie that has Autism.

They they can play and use their own imagination.

From a Guardian article 👇Having movable parts to enable stimming behaviour is a bit of a stretch (no pun intended); you'd have to make it do those movements, surely?
And the eye thing might just look like it's poorly made plastic tat which it is anyway

The doll’s eyes gaze slightly to one side, reflecting how some autistic people avoid direct eye contact. She has fully bendable elbows and wrists, enabling repetitive physical movements such as stimming and hand-flapping that help some people with autism to process sensory information or express excitement.

Check out the Barbie fashionista range. There is a Down syndrome Barbie, Blind Barbie, Barbie with prosthetic limbs.

Wheelchair Barbie has been around for nearly 20 years. And there are several Barbie’s s with prosthetic limbs.
Dolls that show all kinds of ‘differences’ have got to be a good thing.

I think there are two only physical differences to the standard Barbie - the eyes are slightly aimed at the side (as so many autistic people find direct eye contact difficult) and the feet and therefore shoes are flat (as coordination/balance issues often go along with autism, so flat shoes usually work better).

My autistic 8 year old actually prefers the normal Barbie - he enjoys intense eye contact and almost always walks on his tiptoes - both of which I’ve been told by specialists are also well known autism traits.

The whole concept of “autism” as though it is one condition is misleading really, as there are so many differences in how autism presents and what challenges it causes, but I’m not sure it’s realistic to expect the general public to recognise 20 different types of autism or know all the different issues, so in general I’m all for wider representation and recognition of autism. If nothing else the new Barbie promotes discussion/better understanding.

This. They really are a good thing.

The doll’s eyes gaze slightly to one side, reflecting how some autistic people avoid direct eye contact.

Maybe this is just me being sensitive (!) but this feels like it's skirting the line into piss-take...

On the whole I think it's not a bad idea as pp have said, for representation.

It's so funny and horrifically offensive! What are they going to do next? ADHD Ken? OCD Skipper? Social Anxiety Alan?

Because all people with OCD look alike right?