A Little Girl’s Story
Eight-year-old Ruth sits cross-legged on the floor of her bedroom, surrounded by Barbie dolls of all shapes, skin tones, and sizes. She carefully places each one in a line and studies their features. As she ran her hand through their various hair textures, fidgeted with each accessory, and admired the uniqueness of each doll, she could not help but feel something was missing. Each one was beautiful and brought her joy, but none of them felt truly representative of her or her experiences living as a neurodivergent individual.
Ruth is among the 3.2% of eight-year-old children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Living with ASD, Ruth sometimes faces challenges in communicating her needs, adapting to sudden changes, and engaging in activities that do not align with her interests. Due to these challenges, Ruth has found it hard to connect with her classmates and teachers.
Ruth’s mother, seeing this internal conflict, purchased her Tracie, a doll from the recently released “Best to Be Me” Barbie collection. Ruth was ecstatic to see a doll that not only looked like her but also dressed like her. Tracie wears noise cancelling headphones, like the ones Ruth wears when she gets overstimulated by the loud environment surrounding her. Additionally, the doll features fidget bracelets, Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) cards, and sensory friendly clothing made from bamboo fabric.
“Mom she actually looks like me! ”
The following week, Ruth brings Tracie and Tracie’s accompanying chapter book, Tracie’s Trip to the Fair in for show and tell. Ruth is overjoyed to share the story of Tracie's bravery and have an opportunity to teach her classmates about ASD.
Obstacles to Inclusive Play
Dolls serve an important function in early childhood development by bolstering children's confidence, offering an outlet during the challenges of life, and boosting self-confidence through experimentation and play. At Barbie, we recognize these core functions and seek to offer products that not only serve this purpose but are also representative of our large and diverse community.
However, true inclusivity and representation in play requires that we recognize the unique challenges faced by neurodivergent children and actively seek solutions to ensure that our dolls have been designed to not only represent these children but also create an environment of support and encouragement.
Some common obstacles to play for neurodivergent children include:
- Barriers to Communication: Neurodivergent children may have a hard time expressing their wants or needs verbally and can find it difficult to read the wants or needs of others, leading them to feel frustrated and alone.
- Sensitivity to Sensory Experiences: Loud sounds and exposure to too much or too little light can result in neurodivergent children being unable to meaningfully engage with their environment, causing them to self-isolate.
- Socializing: Connecting with others and comprehending the complexities of social norms and expectations can lead to difficulties forming relationships with others.
At Barbie, our core values, centered on fostering a bright future for young girls through imaginative, representative, and empowering play, begin with acknowledging where there are gaps in our current product lines. By identifying these obstacles for neurodiverse children and seeking to meet a growing need, we aim to encourage inclusivity and educational opportunities for all.
A Leader in Representation
For over six decades, Barbie has sought to inspire young girls to dream big and achieve even bigger. Ruth’s story centered on the power of representation serves as a motivator to us as we continue to provide representation for all consumers with our product lines.
When we expanded our Fashionista line in 2019 to include dolls with mobility devices, hearing aids, and limb differences, we knew that representation for all did not end merely with physical disabilities.
"Barbie is dedicated to one day having every young girl see herself represented by one of our dolls,” said Krista Berger, Senior Vice President of Barbie and Global Head of Dolls. “Our Best to Be Me line addresses a gap in our current product offerings by expanding to include neurodivergent dolls and chapter books emphasizing their incredible abilities.”
Unique Features of The Dolls:
- Sensory Friendly Clothing: Each doll in the line comes outfitted with clothing made of breathable and hypoallergenic bamboo fabric. It was important to us that these clothes not only looked good but felt good to touch and play with. Additionally, we chose bamboo over other sensory friendly fabric material options such as cotton and modal because bamboo’s manufacturing process better aligns with our company wide sustainability focus.
- Fidget Accessories: While each doll has a different fidget accessory incorporated into their design, each accessory has been made fully functional to encourage tactile play.
- Posable Appendages: All the dolls within this collection have been designed with posable appendages to allow children to stimulate stimming or different body posturing in their play.
- Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) cards: Neurodivergent individuals often use AAC cards to nonverbally express their wants or needs. We included a small pack of AAC cards with our Tracie and Evie dolls to teach children about the value of these communication devices.
- Chapter Book: These books introduce the doll, discuss her specific disability, and feature conversations starters meant to get children and adults engaging in discussions about the value of inclusivity and representation.
Erasing Barriers to Play through Education and Partnership:
Children like Ruth aren’t the only ones benefiting from these neurodiverse dolls and their stories. Parents and teachers alike have begun to discover that these dolls serve as crucial aids that spark meaningful conversations about autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and dyslexia. Teachers have even started incorporating these dolls and their accompanying chapter books into their lesson plans on inclusivity and empathy.
To show our dedication to authentic representation and ensure our dolls contribute to a future where all children regardless of ability feel represented and fulfilled in their play we have partnered with The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), and the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).
Dreams without Limits
At Barbie, our motto has always been “You Can Be Anything”. Our diverse line of dolls featuring 35 skin tones, 97 hairstyles, and nine body types, stand as a testament to the belief that when given the support and representation needed, children are capable of doing amazing things! The Best to Be Me Line integrates some of Barbie’s best qualities and expands upon our products’ ability to meet the needs of our growing base. Because we believe empowerment and imagination begin when children are encouraged to dream of a world of limitless possibilities regardless of ability.
To learn more about the Best to Be Me line and other Barbie initiatives, visit https://shop.mattel.com/pages/barbie
Credits:
Created with images by New Africa - "Mykolaiv, Ukraine - September 2, 2023: Barbie doll with bicycle on pink background, closeup" • pingpao - "Cute asian child girl is climbing a wooden wall with a rope in the playground with fun and strong" • Drazen - "Happy teacher and schoolgirl giving high five during class at school." • fizkes - "Happy little girl and father giving high five, studying at home together, smiling dad and pretty preschool girl satisfied by good homework results, homeschooling, teacher praising student"