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

Most children don't have an ACC device.

How many boys do you know that play with barbies

I said the people I work with, not everyone.

Wow! Hello… it’s 2026.. talk about small minded.

Some do but I think they would prefer a male role model. It annoys me a little that boy figures are always heros not ordinary men that can be adapted to imaginative play. I work with kids and some boys do play with dolls, you'd be surprised when it's presented to them in a gender neutral kind of way.

I was replying to @KimberleyClark who seemed to think it would be groundbreaking and aspirational.

I have autistic boys and they give zero fucks about barbies or dolls of any kind, so I was basing my statement on my family. But yes you are quite right to correct me, boys can play with barbies too.

That just shows your ignorance re autism- comfortable clothes, headphones and fidgets are used by many autistic adults. The reasons for needing them don’t disappear when you become an adult.

1 Barbie doesn’t represent all women so 1 Barbie doesn’t need to represent all autistic people.

When you think the world can’t get any crazier!

I will buy this at my earliest opportunity to join my wheelchair Barbie and Type 1 diabetes Barbie in my office at school- I know this will mean a lot of some of my autistic girls at school. Representation is so important.

So inclusivity is crazy now. 🤔

It’s not inclusivity - it’s let stick a pair of headphones and a fidget spinner on this doll and call it autistic and profit from it.

No harm done I suppose but yes - it’s laughable. I have an autistic dd and she bears no resemblance to that doll - she’s never had a fidget spinner or noise cancelling headphones - it reductive and borders on taking the piss imo.

Virtue signalling baloney.

All Barbie’s don’t represent all women. This Barbie represents some autistic women not all autistic women. Many autistic girls struggle hugely with their ND and an autistic Barbie will help some autistic girls. What on earth is reductive about having a doll with accessories many autistic women use on a daily basis?

Are you some sort of transphobe? What about they/them Barbie?!

I’m sure that will be next!

Bloody better be! 🤬🤣

My son who is a wheelchair user bears no resemblance to wheelchair barbie either.

Some little girls who are wheelchair users I'm sure are delighted with it, as will some little girls who are autistic and do see themselves in the barbie.

DS has a beaver with a hospital gown, a port and a dialysis machine, it’s fab!

That's so funny does she come with a McDonald's and a ipad.

Yes, there’s already a Diabetes Type 1 Barbie

I think there's much more they could have done to 'suggest' she was autistic. Short hair for example to show sensory sensitivities, maybe dyed a more unusual colour to show less tied to social norms, vision issues are more common with autistic people than the average person so she could have been wearing glasses.

Also joggers and a hoodie where the hood fits her head properly would have been much more appropriate than that short, weird tent dress.

So don't assume the people you work with represent all autists. This doesn't represent any of the autists I've worked with or have in my family. Just because this isn't offensive to some people doesn't mean either of us can speak for all.

My autistic daughter and son refuse to have their hair cut which is common, long hair is more indicative of sensory sensitivities .