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

It might also make a difference that my son didn't become a wheelchair user until he was 8 due to complications from cancer. Maybe it would be different if it was all he had ever known but he remembers a time when he could play football with his friends so I think it's also about relating to others now who know what he is going through.

Is it labelled as autistic? About half the teen girls my DD goes to school with use loops and the majority like fidget rings. Ridiculous if theyve labelled those as "autistic items". Our DD uses both whereas our son who is autistic has no interest in either.

Well said. How some people are managing to get het up over this is beyond me. 'But not all autistic people are like that!!!! As a result I'm ruddy bloody fucking offended beyond belief!!!!!'. Yeah yeah. They should bring out an 'Overblown Internet Ranter' Barbie to cheer them up.

Think the standard Barbies cover that - who else has ten million hobbies and jobs and wears ski boots with a bikini with ten thousand special outfits and accessories?

Although that may have just been me.

I like that they've done this.

Calm down, we’re not ranting. We’re having a discussion about whether this is a good thing or not for the autistic community.
I’m also interested in whether there was a discussion about calling her ‘autistic Barbie’ rather than ‘Barbie with autism’.

I’m not sure that I said that they did?

Boobs appear during puberty.

When I look at Barbies I always see them as stage 1-2, and there's precious little of stage 2 there.

Puberty Stages

1. Breast buds (Thelarche): First sign, small lumps under the nipple (around ages 8-13).
2. Growth Spurt & Hair: Breast buds grow, pubic hair appears, hips widen, and a major growth spurt occurs.
3. Menarche (First Period): Usually happens about 2-2.5 years after breast buds start, around age 12.5 on average, but varies.
4. Body Shape: Body fat redistributes, creating wider hips and a narrower waist.

It’s just a money spinner. Some people will think it’s wonderful, like when they brought the Downs one out.

Bless him, it must have been a tough transition for him. Well done to him for managing at such a young age. I hope he's doing well and that he is still able to do much of what he loves x

There won’t be any fidget spinners or loops. There were, once, but god knows where they went.

I had a Sindy doll (early 60s). She was presented as a tomboy and anything but demure, very much like me. My parents had no expectation of me being "demure" or "self effacing" and they were just ordinary parents, not seen as unusual in any way. My mother didn't give me a Barbie because all the pink and frills wouldn't have appealed to me and she never encouraged me just to be "a pretty little thing" anyway. (I think she also viewed Barbie as too American, but that's by the by.) I had no friends who had a Barbie either, for the same reasons, though one did have a Tressie.
I can't work out if you're being ironic in your last paragraph or if you really think a pilot with a pink plane or a president with a pink limo is in any way ground breaking.

Stupid and enraging idea. Autism is an invisible challenge, and it can't be made visible by accessorising it.

For children who use a wheelchair I can see the value of marketing a Barbie who also uses one, otherwise they might find it hard to see themselves reflected in the doll. But a fidget spinner, short sleeves and a tablet? Straw clutching, by a corporation anxious to increase sales by broadening its range, with the collusion of parents determined to convert an aspect of their child into an identity.

Toys are at their best when they don't come pre-loaded with manufacturers' UPF simulacra of a child's imagination. The less segmented and accessorised they are, the more fee-flowing a child's own imagination can be as they explore their developing sense of self. The only time manufacturers should be stepping in with imagination-directing props is when they need to correct an accidental exclusion that they themselves have generated (e.g. by selling only white dolls or heavily gendered dolls or dolls that are conspicuously 'able bodied' rather than using a wheelchair.

I know Barbie is meant to be an adult. I've always just been squicked by the unrealistic nature of her body, and what that image says to girls who are growing up.

Mind you, I should probably be just as squicked by Ken's anatomical absences.

It's just me I guess.

So don't buy it for her then? They're not saying this doll represents all autistic people.

Not all deaf people wear hearing aids, but for the kids who do, having a doll that has a hearing aid is surely a nice inclusive thing?

My DD hates wearing ear defenders even though they really help her, but she doesn't want to be different. Normalising them in any way seems like a good thing to me.

I can't see what's offensive about this. Regular Barbie doesn't look like the vast majority of women. I think it's good for children to have toys that represent them available, even if they don't look exactly like them. Learning that I won't ever fit in has been far more valuable to me than all the years spent trying to, so I don't buy the argument about avoiding representative toys for that reason. I also think the views of autistic people should be prioritised in this discussion, not NT interpretations of what they think those views will be.

Have girls ever actually thought they should have the body shape of Barbie though?
In the 80s me and my friends (primary age) liked Barbie dolls but would take the piss out of them - walk around on tip toe with our arms in the fixed shape and pretending we had giant boobs but saying things like "look at me... I'm Barbie and my boobs are so big I'm going to fall over".

What planet are you on ..reported your post

My dc aren't into barbies but my 12 year old has a toy dog who has scars, a cannula and hearing aids. He thinks it's brilliant.

What makes it autistic? Does Barbie cut her own hair?!

...speaking as an autistic who cuts her own hair before anyone reports my post!

Being as generous as I can, I assume you mean you work with autistic people who need higher levels of support and thus they want that recognised. Because I can assure you that "most" autistic people do not have a different look. Maybe don't generalise from a small sample to the whole population

Well Im an autism assessor and I can't. I really don't believe you and your daughter can. Autistic people don't have a 'look'. I think you are profoundly wrong there and its quite offensive to say so.

Representation matters- this would have been a great chance to show they aren't just chasing dollars.

Forgive me if my families experience with autism assessors & other health/education professionals (not all but certainly some we came across) does not inspire me with the greatest confidence in your abilities.

Our 'Tism radar has never failed us yet. There is a distinct look in the eyes.

Surely the biggest issue people have with Barbie dolls is that they are all ‘pretty’, very tall and skinny with no genitals. Your average child that plays with them isn’t doing so because Barbie is representing her. No wonder girls grow up with issues over body image.

They do a diabetic barbie, my newly diagnosed 5 year old granddaughter loves it. I think generally if it makes understanding easier for children they are a good idea.