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

Agree. It's so important for different health conditions, family types, housing situations, cultures etc to be represented in children's media. I see adults complain about the concept for various reasons or complain about not getting it perfectly right, but I have also seen firsthand how happy it makes children to see a character like them who experiences something similar to what they experience.

It's a tiny thing but I remember the first time my DD saw a doll that had hair similar to hers and how happy she was - she had been saying she didn't like her hair but she then stopped saying that, and was saying instead 'I have hair like my doll.'

I have heard of a woman who makes custom-designed dolls for children with medical issues which I think is a lovely idea.

I would also hope that partial sales proceeds of dolls like this go to organisations that help people living with the conditions.