NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie on Monday as the newest member of intended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie and with vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to make more 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 with . 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 that in degree, and many of the traits the 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.
Like , 鈥渁utism doesn鈥檛 look any one way,鈥� Pervez said. 鈥淏ut we can try and show some of the ways that autism expresses itself.鈥�
For example, the eyes of the shift 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 tablet after the devices some autistic people who struggle to speak use to communicate.
The addition of the autistic doll to the also became an occasion for Mattel to create a doll with facial features inspired by the company鈥檚 employees in India and mood boards reflecting with Indian backgrounds. Pervez said it was important to have the doll represent a segment of that is generally .
Mattel in 2023 and brought out a Barbie representing a person last summer. The Fashionistas also include a Barbie and with 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.
鈥淏arbie has always strived to reflect the world kids see and the possibilities they imagine, and we鈥檙e proud to introduce our first autistic Barbie as part of that ongoing work,鈥� Jamie Cygielman, Mattel鈥檚 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-old 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.
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