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(CNN) — Five-year-old Mikko’s eyes lit up with glee when she noticed something familiar about her Barbie: The doll held a fidget spinner and wore oversize headphones, just like hers.
The moment was “almost magical,” said Mikko’s mother, Precious Hill, who’s based in Las Vegas.
The doll, launched Monday, is the first Barbie with autism. She carries a pink fidget spinner that actually spins, wears pink noise-cancelling headphones to reduce sensory overload and holds a pink tablet that represents her augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, device.
Hill says Mikko, who is nonverbal, also uses an AAC device, which helps people who have speech or language problems to communicate.
“Autism is such an invisible disability at times, and to see that it’s being represented through Barbie – everybody knows who Barbie is – it felt really good,” Hill said. “It’s really important to me that Mikko walks through life having representation. It really matters to me that she’s not alone.”
The Barbie doll has a gaze that shifts slightly to the side, reflecting how some people with autism avoid direct eye contact. Her fashionable purple pinstripe dress is purposefully flowy, loose-fitting and short-sleeved, a nod to how some people with autism prefer to keep fabric from touching their skin as much as possible.
As Mattel prepared for the doll’s launch, the company sent the new Barbie to Hill. She too has autism, and she says the doll makes her “feel seen.”
She also has two other children, 11-year-old twins Matthew and Ma’Kenzie. While Ma’Kenzie has not been found to have autism, Matthew is autistic – and he too was happy to see the doll.
“Other families that are going through this, or that also have autism or loved ones that are on the spectrum, I hope that they feel seen, too,” Hill said.
The new doll is part of Mattel’s Fashionistas collection, which includes dolls with a diverse range of skin tones, hair textures, body types and health conditions, including type 1 diabetes, Down syndrome and blindness.
Mattel worked with the nonprofit Autistic Self Advocacy Network to design the doll, which aims to represent the roughly 1 in 31 children who are diagnosed with autism by age 8 in the United States.
“It is so important for young autistic people to see authentic, joyful representations of themselves, and that’s exactly what this doll is,” Colin Killick, executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said in a news release. “Partnering with Barbie allowed us to share insights and guidance throughout the design process to ensure the doll fully represents and celebrates the autistic community, including the tools that help us be independent.”
Autism spectrum disorder is a range of neurodevelopmental differences that affect how people communicate, interact and experience the world around them. It typically begins before the age of 3 and continues throughout a person’s life. Although there is no cure for autism, early support and therapies can make a meaningful difference.
Research suggests that autism is more than three times more common among boys than girls, but many experts believe it is frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed in girls.
In some cases, girls with autism are not diagnosed until much later in life – not until they become mothers. Hill was one of them.
A doll not just for kids
“I didn’t know that I was autistic growing up,” said Hill, 32.
It was only through her daughter’s diagnosis at age 2 that Hill discovered her own diagnosis.
“When I first learned about Mikko being autistic, I spoke with my aunt – my aunt is who primarily raised me – and she noticed it first. She said, ‘Well, I didn’t want to offend you. I didn’t know how you would take the news, but I kind of noticed that there were some similarities between Mikko and you and how you were when you were growing up.’ And when I was little, she just didn’t know what it was. She just knew that I was different.”
But as Hill started to research more about autism to support her daughter, she realized that many of the signs, symptoms and experiences paralleled her own life. She then met with a health professional and was diagnosed at age 29.
Eileen Lamb of Austin, Texas, also was not diagnosed until she was a mother in her 20s.
“I can totally relate to being diagnosed later in life, as a female with autism,” said Lamb, senior director of social media and marketing at the nonprofit Autism Speaks, which advocates for and supports autistic people and families. Two of Lamb’s three children have autism.
“My 12-year-old was diagnosed at age 2, and I was diagnosed like a year later. … I got my diagnosis just after my son,” she said. “Autism can look different in girls, and the fact that Barbie is a girl is powerful in some way. It’s a great conversation opener, a great way to talk about it in a way that doesn’t feel so clinical and heavy.”
Lamb applauded the introduction of the new Barbie doll for highlighting some of the tools that help people with autism – such as the fidget spinner and AAC device – but she emphasized that autism is a broad spectrum, and many people may have different needs.
“I don’t think it’s possible to represent the entire spectrum in one doll. For instance, my son Charlie uses an AAC device also to communicate. He’s fully nonverbal. So I love that the Barbie has an AAC device. But my other son, who’s also on the spectrum, does not. So again, it’s not possible to represent everyone, but it’s a great step,” said Lamb, who’s also founder of The Autism Café blog.
“Toys matter. Representation matters, and it’s really good for children to see themselves in a toy,” she said. “It sends a message that being different is nothing to be ashamed of.”
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Jacqueline Howard and CNN
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