What is your reaction to the new Barbie with autism? It was an absolute gut punch to me and my son. I was driving with my 24-year-old autistic son when we heard the news on a podcast, and I literally saw the life drain from my son's face. He knows he has autism, he loves spinners, and he has a lazy eye, so this really hurt him. It infuriated me as a parent to see him so visibly hurt by this announcement. Do you have the doll? Do you want the doll? No, we do not have it, and we absolutely do not want it. Do you think this Barbie is an accurate representation of autism? Why or why not? Would you like to have seen anything done differently? It is a stereotypical insult from a "woke" toy maker, not an accurate representation. My son happens to love spinners and has a lazy eye, so to see those specific traits caricatured in a doll feels like they are mocking him directly rather than representing him. Where will they draw the line? How does having an autistic Barbie help/hurt representation of people with autism? It hurts representation because it reduces a complex human experience into a marketing gimmick. Instead of feeling seen, my son felt labeled and targeted by a corporate checklist of symptoms. Anything else you would like to add? Where does this end? Will they release a Barbie with Down syndrome next that is drooling, with facial anomalies? It is wrong to exploit medical conditions for profit under the guise of inclusivity. This is repulsive behavior by a toy maker. If you don't like the doll, why not? What do you wish Mattel had done differently? Do you wish they hadn't made the doll at all? Why? I wish they hadn't made the doll at all. It causes pain to the very people it claims to celebrate by turning their daily struggles into a plastic curiosity for others to gawk at. Please provide a link to verify you are a real person (Instagram, LinkedIN, etc). https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardgardnermodulus If you can verify you/your child is autistic, that would be helpful. An interview might be necessary via Zoom. Yes, my son is 23 years old and is available via Zoom. His birthday is in two weeks. He would be happy to voice his opinion - and his opinion is separate from mine.
I am autistic and a father of two girls. I feel like the autistic Barbie is a small step in the right direction in terms of representation of autistic children and their experiences. It's impossible to represent every autistic child in a single doll—autism is such a multi-faceted, complex condition, so they did their best using the accessories such as the fidget spinner, the AAC and the ear defenders to capture a wide range of sensory tools that autistic people use. I can see that ASAN have also had a credible say in how it's been designed, with articulated wrists and elbows to simulate stimming and a loose fitting dress as well. Seeing the reactions of some children to the doll—and the joy they feel at seeing a toy represent them—makes me think it was well worth doing. I also believe that representation alone is not enough for autistic children. It's not enough for society just to say "there's your doll, be happy now". So many spaces and situations are still far too stressful and impossible for many autistic people—and disabled people as a whole—to navigate. Even high-masking autistic people have to shrink their needs to fit into spaces that aren't set up for them. So whilst I welcome the autistic Barbie, I'd rather see representation coupled with more meaningful societal understanding of how to set up spaces for autistic people, and greater knowledge of the full range of experiences and issues the autistic people face daily. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-kelley-217b11270?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app https://lifeonhardmode.substack.com