The Daily Populous Tuesday January 13rd, 2026 morning edition
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NEW YORK (AP) — Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie on Monday as the newest member of its line intended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie and a Ken with vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to make its fashion dolls 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 autism. 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 vary widely in degree, and many of the traits associated with 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 many 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 the new Barbie 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 modeled after the devices some autistic people who struggle to speak use to communicate.

The addition of the autistic doll to the Barbie Fashionistas line also became an occasion for Mattel to create a doll with facial features inspired by the company’s employees in India and mood boards reflecting a range of women with Indian backgrounds. Pervez said it was important to have the doll represent a segment of the autistic community that is generally underrepresented.

Mattel introduced its first doll with Down syndrome in 2023 and brought out a Barbie representing a person with Type 1 diabetes last summer. The Fashionistas also include a Barbie and a Ken 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.

“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-old children 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.

HeyThereRobot on January 12nd, 2026 at 22:26 UTC »

I'm autistic and I think this is really neat!

If you read the article, they do say that she is not meant to be a representation of all autistic people, but show some of the different tools that some autistic people need (like, I wear noise canceling headphones nearly always, but I don't use an AAC device).

Plus that they worked with the Autism Self Advocacy Network on designing her is great, they're a great autistic-led advocacy org.

Also that they specifically made it so her eyes are slightly downcast to avoid eye contact is killing me, that's so spot on.

HowellingAtStars on January 12nd, 2026 at 18:21 UTC »

honestly, as an autistic person, i’m not a fan. any barbie can be autistic. depictions of autism in media are so limited, but in reality, what it means to be autistic can vastly differ from person to person, so much so that in most cases, you really can’t even look at someone and tell that they’re autistic. personally feel like making a barbie with accessories stereotypically associated with autism is just feeding those stereotypes. anyway, that’s my two cents. i appreciate the attempt at diversity from mattel, but feel that this doll is unnecessary. that being said, i am looking at this from the perspective of an adult. maybe this doll would speak to me more if i was a child. ACCURATE autism representation in media is very important, especially for young people.

mycatpartyhouse on January 12nd, 2026 at 17:51 UTC »

I had no idea Mattel was doing this with their dolls. I hope people buy them and Mattel further represents diversity.