Mattel has made an effort to rejoice all kinds of range with its Barbie Fashionistas Assortment, that includes a variety of various hair textures, physique sorts, and disabilities, together with Down Syndrome, vitiligo, and Kind 1 diabetes. Now, the road is increasing to incorporate the first-ever Barbie doll with autism spectrum disorder.
The autistic Barbie doll was developed in shut collaboration with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to precisely characterize the assorted methods autistic individuals would possibly course of, expertise, and work together with the world round them. By together with this doll within the lineup, Mattel invitations much more children to see themselves mirrored in Barbie, serving to foster the neighborhood of kindness, inclusivity, and friendship that the character has at all times championed.
Autism encompasses a wide selection of behaviors and traits, so the Barbie design group centered on capturing a few of the widespread traits that autistic individuals would possibly expertise. For instance, the doll’s gaze is shifted barely to the aspect, representing how some desire to keep away from direct eye contact. The elbows and wrists characteristic further factors of articulation, permitting the doll to stim and hand-flap, which helps many autistic individuals course of sensory data or categorical themselves.
The doll represents a few of the methods many individuals with autism expertise and talk with the world. | Supply: Mattel/The Toy Insider
Every Barbie features a pink fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones, and an AAC-equipped pill. | Supply: Mattel/The Toy Insider
The doll wears a flowy, sensory-friendly pinstripe costume and comes with quite a lot of equipment, together with a pink fidget spinner finger clip, pink noise-canceling headphones, and a handheld pill that includes symbol-based Augmentative and Different Communication (AAC) apps. These instruments assist quite a few individuals navigate on a regular basis conditions with larger ease and luxury. Rounding out the look is a pair of purple sneakers, full with flat soles for further stability.
To rejoice the launch, Mattel is teaming up with advocates from the autistic neighborhood — equivalent to mother-daughter duo Treasured and Mikko Mirage, entrepreneur Madison Marilla, and designer and visible artist Aarushi Pratap — to share their distinctive tales and seize their reactions to seeing themselves represented as a Barbie doll for the primary time. Households can watch the heartwarming video now on YouTube.
Mattel can even donate greater than 1,000 Barbie dolls to pediatric hospitals throughout the U.S. specializing in offering care to autistic children, together with Youngsters’s Nationwide Hospital in Washington, D.C., Youngsters’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), and Rady Youngsters’s Hospital Orange County.
The doll is now out there at main retailers, together with Amazon, Goal, and Walmart, in addition to shop.mattel.com.
BARBIE FASHIONISTAS AUTISTIC BARBIE DOLL
Created in collaboration with the Autism Self Advocacy Community, this Barbie precisely displays a few of the traits many autistic individuals expertise, from a shifted gaze to further articulation for stimming. The set additionally features a fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones, and an AAC-equipped pill accent.
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