Barbie® Introduces the First Autistic Barbie Doll, Championing Representation for Children through Play
The doll was developed in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN).
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260111166960/en/
Barbie® Introduces the First Autistic Barbie Doll, Championing Representation for Children through Play. The doll was developed in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN).
Developed for more than 18 months in partnership with ASAN, a non-profit disability rights organization run by and for autistic people that advocates for the rights of the autistic community, this doll joins the Barbie Fashionistas collection, which features the most diverse range of skin tones, hair textures, body types, and various medical conditions and disabilities.
“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,” said
In close collaboration with ASAN, the Barbie design team made intentional design choices for the autistic Barbie doll to authentically reflect some experiences individuals on the autism spectrum may relate to. The autistic Barbie doll features and accessories include:
- Body: The autistic Barbie doll features elbow and wrist articulation, enabling stimming, hand flapping, and other hand gestures that some members of the autistic community use to process sensory information or express excitement.
-
Eye Gaze : The doll is designed with an eye gaze shifted slightly to the side, which reflects how some members of the autistic community may avoid direct eye contact. -
Accessories: Each doll comes with a pink finger clip fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones and a tablet.
- Fidget Spinner: The doll holds a pink finger clip fidget spinner that actually spins, offering a sensory outlet that can help reduce stress and improve focus.
- Headphones: Pink noise-cancelling headphones rest on top of the doll’s head as a helpful and fashionable accessory that reduces sensory overload by blocking out background noise.
- Tablet: A pink tablet showing symbol-based Augmentative and Alternative Communication apps (AAC) on its screen serves as a tool to help with everyday communication.
- Sensory-Sensitive Fashions: The doll wears a loose-fitting, purple pinstripe A-line dress with short sleeves and a flowy skirt that provides less fabric-to-skin contact. Purple shoes complete the outfit, with flat soles to promote stability and ease of movement.
“As proud members of the autistic community, our ASAN team was thrilled to help create the first-ever autistic Barbie doll. It is so important for young autistic people to see authentic, joyful representations of themselves, and that’s exactly what this doll is. Partnering with Barbie allowed us to share insights and guidance throughout the design process to ensure the doll fully represents and celebrates the autistic community, including the tools that help us be independent. We’re honored to see this milestone come to life, and we will keep pushing for more representation like this that supports our community in dreaming big and living proud.” -
As part of the doll launch, Barbie is teaming up with advocates for the autistic community, including mother-daughter duo Precious and
“Dolls have always brought me comfort, stability, and joy. I’ve been collecting Barbie dolls since I was four years old, and now this autistic Barbie will be one of my favorites,”said
Consistent with the Fashionistas dolls representing individuals with type 1 diabetes, Down syndrome and blindness, the autistic Barbie doll was named and created with the community’s guidance to allow more children to see themselves in Barbie. This doll, along with the entire Fashionistas collection boasts over 175+ looks, can help children better understand the world around them by encouraging doll play outside of a child’s own lived experience. It’s yet another step in making the Barbie brand a more inclusive reflection of the children who play with it.
Building on the importance of feeling understood and connected through play, beginning in 2020, Barbie set out to research the short- and long-term benefits of doll play through a multi-year study with researchers at
To celebrate the launch, Barbie will donate more than 1,000 autistic Barbie dolls to leading pediatric hospitals that provide specialized services for children on the autism spectrum, including Children’s
The autistic Barbie doll is now available on
About
About Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is a national grassroots disability rights organization run by and for autistic people. We work to support all forms of self-advocacy and to change the way people think about autism. Our members and supporters include autistic adults and youth, cross-disability advocates, and non-autistic family members, professionals, educators, and friends. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!
MAT-BARB
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260111166960/en/
News Media
Devin.duff@mattel.com
Aly.lloyd@mattel.com
Source:
