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Mattel Launches Autistic Barbie Within Diversity And Inclusion Line 

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Mattel has officially launched its first autistic Barbie as the newest member of its diversity and inclusion line. The release of this new addition comes just six months after the company released its first doll with type 1 diabetes. These dolls are designed so that “more children see themselves in Barbie” and they have the chance to play with dolls that “reflect the world around them.”

Autism is a form of neurodivergence that influences how people experience and interact with people and the world. It varies greatly depending on the individual, and according to the World Health Organization, more than one child in a hundred is believed to be autistic. 

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The newest addition to Barbie was made in collaboration with the US charity the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and is specifically designed to represent some of the ways in with children with autism might experience, process, and communicate with the world. 

The doll itself has eyes that gaze slightly to one side, representing how some people on the autism spectrum avoid direct eye contact. She also has fully bendable elbows and wrists to enable repetitive physical movements that help some people with autism process sensory information, also known as stimming. 

She also has a fidget spinner and noise-cancelling headphones to reduce sensory overload, both of which are in signature Barbie pink. She also comes with a tablet with symbol-based augmentative and alternative communication buttons to help with daily communication. 

The first Barbies were released in 1959, and up until 2019, none of them had disabilities. Now, however, there are Barbies that are blind, use wheelchairs, have Down syndrome, prosthetic limbs, vitiligo, and hearing aids. 

Jamie Cygielman, the global head of dolls at Mattel, stated that this addition is the company’s latest expansion to their commitment to representation and inclusion. 

“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,” she said. 

“The doll helps to expand what inclusion looks like in the toy aisle and beyond because every child deserves to see themselves in Barbie.”

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“We engaged with the autistic community throughout the design process, always mindful that autism is experienced differently by every individual and is not always visible. The elements of this doll reflect how some people on the spectrum may experience and express the world, and we hope that by partnering with influential voices within the community, Barbie can continue to showcase a broader range of authentic experiences.”

Barbie has now joined the likes of brands Lego, which sells a variety of figures with non-visible disabilities, and Lottie which sells dolls with autism. 

Jolanta Lasota, the chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, stated: 

“Theoretically any Barbie can be reimagined as autistic, because autism doesn’t have one look. But representation is powerful and Barbie is an iconic toy, so we hope many autistic children feel pride at seeing some of their experiences reflected in this new doll.”

“We know some autistic young people are reluctant to use supports such as ear defenders and stim toys at school for fear of standing out, so the more we can normalise these types of visible markers the better.”

“With girls three times less likely than boys to be diagnosed with autism, this toy also shines a light on the experiences of autistic girls, who often slip under the radar.”

Author and founder of an online community for neurodivergent people, Ellie Middleton, stated that she’s hoping with this new release, Barbie can challenge some of the misconceptions around autism. 

“I never considered, and the people around me never considered, that I might be autistic, because we had never seen anyone that looked like me, acted like me, or had anything in common with me have that label assigned to them.”

“Having an autistic Barbie changes that. She is showing young girls that it is OK to be autistic, it is OK to be different, and it is OK to wear those differences with pride.”

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Sia Claims ‘Nepotism’ Is Why She Cast Maddie Ziegler Over Autistic Actor In New Film

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Sia has recently received a lot of backlash from the public after announcing her new movie “Music,” which stars Maddie Ziegler, Sia’s longtime muse, as a teenager on the autism spectrum who can’t speak and uses music to communicate and understand the world. 

The decision to cast Ziegler, an individual who’s not on the autism spectrum at all, over an actor who actually is on the spectrum has caused Sia to receive a multitude of complaints and online backlash from individuals who claim the choice was ableist. Initially Sia defended the decision by claiming the character Ziegler is portraying is non-verbal, and typically individuals on the spectrum who are non-verbal would need to be specially accommodated on something as intimidating as a Hollywood set. 

However, these comments seemed to have caused an even bigger uproar online, especially for individuals who actually have autism. Alaina Leary is a journalist who’s on the spectrum herself and recently wrote an op-ed piece on this controversy. 

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“The implication is that a non-speaking autistic actor who might require accommodations on set is, in essence, incapable—thus reinforcing ableist ideas that already lock out such performers.”

The biggest issue people took with Sia’s casting decision is that she was further shutting the door on a pool of actors who are already denied opportunities simply because they’re autistic. This also speaks on a much larger issue in Hollywood of hiring already established actors to play roles that they don’t relate to at all in real life in order to seem more “palatable” to a general audience. 

We see it most often with the hiring of heterosexual actors to portray LGBT+ roles, however, the hiring of able-bodied or neurotypical actors to portray individuals with physical or mental disabilities has been a longstanding issue in Hollywood that clearly continues to shine bright; one of the biggest examples being Tom Hanks in the movie “Forrest Gump.” 

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During an interview with “The Sunday Project,” and Australian TV show, Sia defended the decision to cast Ziegler in the film by claiming nepotism as her reasoning. 

“I realized it wasn’t ableism. I mean, it is ableism I guess as well, but it’s actually nepotism because I can’t do a project without Ziegler. I don’t want to. I wouldn’t make art if it didn’t include her.”

Ziegler, 18, first became famous after appearing on reality TV show “Dance Moms” where Sia initially discovered her, and the two have been working on projects together ever since. Sia even claimed that Ziegler herself expressed multiple concerns on set over her role, telling Sia she was worried people would think she was “making fun” of people with autism, to which Sia replied that she “wouldn’t let that happen.” 

“Music” follows a young girl with autism who is raised by her drug-dealing older sister, played by Kate Hudson. Quickly after the trailer was released it became the center of a massive debate regarding the trend of hiring non-disabled actors in leading roles where a central aspect of the main characters journey is their disability. 

Sia did claim initially that she had tried to work with a young girl who was on the autism spectrum for the role, however, the girl found the experience to be “unpleasant and stressful” which led to Ziegler’s casting in the role.