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The Autistic Barbie is Not About You.

I'm Autistic, Now What?

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*The Autistic Barbie: https://amzn.to/4b72rvm

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00:00 The autistic Barbie controversy
06:10 The TikTok from a developmental psychologist
30:53 High support vs low support needs
46:20 My major issue with the roll out of this doll
51:29 What would your Barbie's special interest be?

📒 Sources 📒:
Autistic Barbie doll announcement: https://corporate.mattel.com/news/bar...
First Autistic Barbie Doll
How Autistic Barbie was designed: https://www.wkyufm.org/npr-arts-life/...
Barbie Diversity: https://shop.mattel.com/pages/barbie-...
ASAN Announcement: https://autisticadvocacy.org/2026/01/...
Invisible Disability Definition: https://disabilityunit.blog.gov.uk/20...
Playing with autistic toys affects behaviour: https://www.toylikeme.org/about-us/wh...
Psychology Today Essay: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl...
AAC and friends: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...
Thin dolls and food behaviour: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
Black Barbie Documentary: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/8171...

📖 *Books I'd Recommend about Autism 📖 :
The Autistic Burnout Workbook: Your Guide to Your Personal Recovery Plan by Dr Megan Anna Neff:
https://amzn.to/3VDXEJs
Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask by Dr Megan Anna Neff: https://amzn.to/4nP8bxh
Unmasked by Ellie Middleton
https://amzn.to/3Bn008w
Different not Less by Chloe Hayden (read if you want to cry):
https://amzn.to/40fKx2m

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DISCLAIMER: I am a second-year psychology student and a late-diagnosed #actuallyautistic individual. I am not a qualified healthcare professional.

20 Comments

@imautisticnowwhat Creator 7 months ago Pinned

🌹 Use my code MEG2026 for 20% off your entire Wild order! 🌹: https://shopwildrefill.com/imautisticnowwhat-8

Do you agree that every Barbie is autistic when an autistic child is playing with them?

Should Mattel have made a fashion pack instead of a doll?

And do you think I’m right to question who received the influencer PR packages?

I’ve been working this video for ages… really excited to finally hear your thoughts!!

If you missed my last video, it was about another terrible reality TV show about disabled people dating (not Love on the Spectrum): https://youtu.be/t8wGr521Pp8

Thank you so much for being here! See you in my next video super soon 💛 💜

@sammjaisais7135 7 months ago

If I wanted an autistic Barbie that didn't have visible cues that she was autistic, I could just pick LITERALLY ANY OTHER BARBIE. I grew up undiagnosed because I have high masking skills, I'm high masking, and didn't have developmental delays. To this day, my parents refuse to take my diagnosis seriously, and I have people who I don't know doubting my diagnosis and saying "everyone has something these days, annoying". I know what it's like for people to have a set idea of what a condition looks like. This Barbie isn't perpetuating stereotypes, it's raising awareness. Autistic people with higher support needs deserve to be seen as more than a "side character" that is basically treated in stories as a plot point.

@cassinipanini 6 months ago

"kids are gonna see this doll and think this is the only thing autism is", thats doing an incredible disservice to the intelligence of children

@MediecreGoddess 7 months ago

"autism doesnt have a look" duh thats why this doll doesnt have a look either. its just a doll, but with tools and design details that a hypothetical autistic person would need. its just good character design. would be fun tho if they had accessory kits for different disabilities the same way american girl had those hearing aids you could buy

@1nnocentbunny 7 months ago

12:37 This is one thing I wish more people would talk about! Not only is she an autistic woman, but she also looks to be of South American descent. Autistic people of color, especially women, are insanely underrepresented. This doll is not only a win in terms of autistic representation but also one of the few representations of autistic people of color!

@ImmortalBroken 7 months ago

Basically encouraging people to not buy Autistic Barbie while simultaneously telling Mattel they should put out more Autistic Barbies is a head scratcher.

@lydianelson7464 7 months ago

Being upset about the autistic Barbie is like being upset that the Type 1 diabetic doll only represents people on the pump and not people who use injections.

@todoteatime 7 months ago

"people are forgetting how kids actually play with Barbies" this is probably the best defense I've heard and why is this the first time I've heard it

@biscuitpuppy 7 months ago

I’m confused on what the dislikers DO want. Like just a plain Barbie with no accessories?? We already have those?

@catfishsailor 7 months ago

As someone who is a very obvious autistic person and with a bunch of other disabilities I have noticed a trend that if a disabled person isn’t a low support needs disabled person then its ‘bad’ rep. and it annoys me so much. Theres a lot of autistic people who don’t see a lot of representation because of their high support needs and yet any representation of them that may exist is bad representation. Autism is a spectrum, that means theres autistic people who do need high support exist!!!!!

@seaperson5704 7 months ago

"everybody is autistic when they play with autistic Barbie" noooooooo that's unhinged.

@ninetails2348 7 months ago

Autistic Barbie keeps trying to lose her shoes cause she doesn't like her feet being caged and prefers walking barefoot like me and you keep putting them back oooonn 😅

@Sinc3r3ly 7 months ago

I think making her a scientist of some kind specifically falls into a stereotype like the Good Doctor or something along those lines. Again, I think making her a blank slate is the best way to go

@sunnykelly4448 7 months ago

Her losing her aac multiple times is so realistic honestly

@Anthology_of_Holly 7 months ago

I feel like the biggest problem with all of these concerns is that they can all be boiled down to the fact that people can’t be bothered having nuanced conversations with their children. If you’re worried that this doll
will make your kids think all autistic people look or feel one particular way, then maybe have a real conversation with them about it and explain that this is just one representation of autism. Toys are great tools for learning but they aren’t supposed to replace education entirely.

@Saintanicx 7 months ago

as a 20+ year old on the spectrum, I found out AAC's exist through this autistic Barbie.

@sammjaisais7135 7 months ago

34:54 IT'S A TOY. A TOY ISN'T A REPLACEMENT FOR EDUCATION. IT'S NOT UP TO A TOY COMPANY TO EDUCATE YOUR KID!!!!

@HackiePuffs 7 months ago

I find it so dumb that this Barbie was made with the help of ASAN so with the help of actual autistic people and some people are still out here trying to say “this is wrong”

@SheepasaurusRex 7 months ago

so.........she wanted the autistic barbie to be limited edition? she does know that means that the barbie would then be made in a smaller quantity and make it more scarce, aka less accessible to the target audience??

@RaptorsCanRah 7 months ago

28:56 Didn't she JUST finnish say the autistic Barbie should be a BLANK SLATE!? And now, seconds later, you want a backstory that would remove that blank slate (that she honestly already had!?!)