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

height of madness

You cant tell a child is autistic just by looking them so I wouldnt expect the Barbie to look any different. The accessories might help both children with and without autism recognise how commonplace it is, encourage accepting of differences.

I dont think any toys need labels such as “autistic” barbie though as tha defeats the purpose somewhat surely…that we are all our own normal and no one is defined by a certain quality, characteristic, disability etc…. but Im not sure they actually do that on the packaging anyway?

A bear named Buttony? My son got one of those too. He had a stoma due to cancer and there is also a charity called give a duck which gives out cuddly ducks with head scarfs and central lines (for chemo) to children with cancer.

It’s offensive because this one Barbie is ‘the’ autistic one. It is her main defining trait. The doctor Barbie, or horse riding Barbie or vet Barbie could also be autistic. (But they couldn’t possibly be because they don’t have the necessary anatomical features to stim.)
A set of accessories that can be used with any doll would be far more inclusive.

As a parent of an autistic child who’s now an adult I would say the biggest problem is autism doesn’t have a specific look. It’s great that they are raising awareness but I don’t know if this is the right way to go about it.

There are Curvy, Tall and Petite Barbies.

The Curvy one isn't wildly curvy, it has to be said.

But Mattel are at least going beyond token representation. I think it's as much about people with autism being recognised as part of the rich tapestry of individuals that make up the human race/Barbie collection, as it is little girls with autism being able to buy a doll that also has autism.

And given that around the same percentage of people have autism as use wheelchairs every day, it's fair enough.

How is Barbie not post-pubescent? How else would she have boobs?

This is part of their 'Fashionistas' range which also includes a Down's Syndrome Barbie and Type 1 diabetes Barbie. I'm sure they mean well, but I don't know if I'd have liked getting a special Barbie related to my condition as a child. I feel like most children (like adults) want to fit in and not be defined by their condition or disease. If I had something which made me feel different, and as a result I'm now getting gifted the Barbie relating to this, it would have just made me feel more different and isolated.

Women were still expected to be demure and self effacing in Sindy and Tressy’s time. Nothing as brazen as direct eye contact.

How about an airline captain Barbie, with her own (pink) Boeing 787?

Or President Barbie with her Dream White House, pink bullet proof limo and pink Air Force One?

'Standard' Barbie doesn't look like an average woman but is based on generalisations and stereotypes so it follows that ND / Barbie with <insert condition> won't be representative either. But having diverse Barbie available to pick from has to be better than them all being glamorous, skinny, white girls!

There is a type 1 diabetic Barbie with an insulin pump and CGM many kids loved it because she had the same as them.

My son gets excited when he sees other people but especially children who are also wheelchair users because it doesn't happen often. He'd be delighted if there was a favourite toy of his similar to the wheelchair Barbie.

He does want to fit in but at the same time, seeing someone just like him is important to him as well. It makes him feel like he isn't the only child in the world who is a wheelchair user.

Oh God! This reminds me of years ago when my daughter's Asian friend wanted a barbie for her birthday. Off I went to get one, picked up the usual blonde, blue eyed doll and then spotted a dark-skinned barbie on the shelf and started over-thinking. I didn't know whether to be right-on and inclusive or just buy the barbie that everybody means when they say 'barbie'.

I bought the dark-skinned one; I never heard anything back from the parents but regretted my choice. I probably would have regretted it if I'd bought the blonde one, so perhaps I should have bought her a kite...

Yes! She 's still got it, years later (and the stoma!).
I hope your son is ok

I'm Autistic, as are both my nearly 8 year olds and, whilst this isn't something I'd buy (neither of my twins have ever been into playing with dolls), I'm not offended by it.

I can see how it would appeal to some people and, with a diagnosis as broad as Autism is nowadays, Mattel were never going to be able to please everyone!

Im not sure re a look.
i think the ear defenders on kids can be a tell. So that maybe why mine identified by other kids.
i think more with boys there can be a look/subtle behaviour etc.

This is great, there is a strange notion that children and adults with medical conditions should "pretend to be normal" and ignore their medical conditions to fit in. When in reality it is part of who they are.

I think to recognise "the look" you have to have had contact with lots of autistic people on a regular basis and probably be one yourself.

I'm autistic. I dont find it offensive, I think its cute. I love the nornalisation of AAC, the eye gaze and the encouragement of flapping as part of playing with the doll - i always had my flapping arms pushed down to my sides by teachers so I'd never have thought that my Barbies could do it! And I also agree that these accessories should be sold separately too do any Barbie can get the accessibility tools she needs!

Wheelchair Barbie presumably has bending legs so she sits rather than straight legs?

Some disabilities are known as Invisible disabilities as you can't just see them. Tbh... this Barbie just looks shes wearing ear muffs.

My daughter is autistic and you absolutely can tell just by looking at her.

Okay, that's brilliant then if it helps some children and makes them feel good about themselves. I think I'd have felt differently, as I said, but maybe that's a reflection of when I grew up vs your son. Thanks for that insight, hopefully your son can eventually get a suitable version of his favourite toy 🙂

My son still has his too but the stoma made things worse so he had a reversal as soon as it was safe for him after his treatment. He still has bowel issues and needs TPN overnight but his stoma was high output to the point he was on replacement fluids and rarely off TPN. Still needs loperamide but not as much as needed with the stoma.

He's doing well thanks. A lot of after effects of cancer but he's been in remission for almost a year and a half now thankfully.

Hope your daughter is doing well and that she has a well behaved stoma!

When you check carefully, the autism Barbie has hypermobile joints on arms.

That's similar to the wheelchair one, who has different construction of knee to support the siting position, and blind one which has different elbow joint to have her white cane properly positioned in front of her.

I suppose they are starting with one skin colour and will add more if this variety gets some traction, the wheelchair ones and amputees got several variants over the time.

@CanSeeClearlyNowTheRainHasGone isn't "post-pubescent Barbie just her sister Skipper.
Barbie has always been an adult. Her sister Skipper is a teen and sister Shelley (?) is a child.
Edit : Chelsea not Shelley but I think originally she was Shelley.