NEW YORK (AP) — Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie on Monday as the newest member ofits lineintended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie anda Kenwith vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to makeits fashion dollsmore inclusive.
Mattel said it developed the autistic doll over more than 18 months in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights and better media representation of people withautism. The goal: to create a Barbie that reflected some of the ways autistic people may experience and process the world around them, according to a Mattel news release.
That was a challenge because autism encompasses a broad range of behaviors and difficulties thatvary widelyin degree, and many of the traitsassociated withthe disorder are not immediately visible, according to Noor Pervez, who is the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's community engagement manager and worked closely with Mattel on the Barbie prototype.
Likemany disabilities, "autism doesn't look any one way," Pervez said. "But we can try and show some of the ways that autism expresses itself."
For example, the eyes of thenew Barbieshift slightly to the side to represent how some people with autism sometimes avoid direct eye contact, he said. The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some autistic people use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.
The development team debated whether to dress the doll in a tight or a loose-fitting outfit, Pervez said. Some autistic people wear loose clothes because they are sensitive to the feel of fabric seams, while others wear figure-hugging garments to give them a sense of where their bodies are, he said.
The team ended up choosing an A-line dress with short sleeves and a flowy skirt that provides less fabric-to-skin contact. The doll also wears flat shoes to promote stability and ease of movement, according to Mattel.
Each doll comes with a pink finger clip fidget spinner, noise-canceling headphones and a pink tabletmodeledafter the devices some autistic people who struggle to speak use to communicate.
The addition of the autistic doll to theBarbie Fashionistas linealso became an occasion for Mattel to create a doll with facial features inspired by the company's employees in India and mood boards reflectinga range of womenwith Indian backgrounds. Pervez said it was important to have the doll represent a segment ofthe autistic communitythat is generallyunderrepresented.
Mattelintroduced its first doll with Down syndromein 2023 and brought out a Barbie representing a personwith Type 1 diabeteslast summer. The Fashionistas also include a Barbie anda Kenwith a prosthetic leg, and a Barbie with hearing aids, but the line also encompasses tall, petite and curvy body types and numerous hair types and skin colors.
"Barbie has always strived to reflect the world kids see and the possibilities they imagine, and we're proud to introduce our first autistic Barbie as part of that ongoing work," Jamie Cygielman, Mattel's global head of dolls, said in a statement.
The doll was expected to be available at Mattel's online shop and at Target stores starting Monday for a suggested retail price of $11.87. Walmart stores are expected to start carrying the new Barbie in March, Mattel said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that the estimated prevalence of autism among 8-year-oldchildren in the U.S.was 1 in 31. The estimate from the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network said Black, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander children in the U.S. were more likely than white children to have a diagnosis, and the prevalence more than three times higher among boys than girls.
