Em Rusciano has weighed in on the first-ever ‘autistic’ Barbie, telling followers that the doll set her ‘teeth off’.
Announced this week by toymakers Mattel, the toy features a fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones and a shifted eye gaze.
Taking to her stories on Monday, the 46-year-old former radio star, who is autistic, appeared to have deeply mixed feelings about the new product.
Admitting that her ‘heart and gut were aching’ after learning of autistic Barbie’s release, Em wrote: ‘I’ll interrogate my feelings more and report back.’
She continued: ‘Something about it [the doll] feels minimising and simplistic, the noise cancelling headphones and stim toys. I dunno, I’ll sleep on it.’
‘If you love it and or your kids do, that’s wonderful, and that’s valid. I’m just one autistic woman feeling off about it… maybe it’s my internalised ableism.’
Em Rusciano has weighed in on the first-ever ‘autistic’ Barbie (Pictured)Â
The toy features a fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones and a shifted eye gazeÂ
Em later shared a screenshot of a post from Sonny Jane, a neurodivergent advocate who is autistic, alongside her own statement in which the one-time Project star claimed she now supported the new doll.
‘People are screaming that autistic Barbie isn’t autistic representation but are failing to realise that for many autistic people with higher support needs, this IS representation. For them,’ Sonny Jane said on her Lived Experience Educator platform.
She continued:Â ‘Autism doesn’t have a single ‘look’ but for autistic people with higher support needs, autism IS visible through AAC devices, ear defenders, fidets [sic], etc.
‘And it is autistic people with higher support needs who deserve and need that representation because they are the ones who are often the least represented.
‘Autistic Barbie may not represent you, but it represents someone who needs it.’
Em then commented: ‘Yep, this is where I’ve landed too. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.
‘And if it’s helping any autistic kid or parent, then it’s a good thing.’
The new doll has been developed in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), headquartered in Washington, DC.
The 46-year-old appeared to have deeply mixed feelings about the new product
Em later shared a screenshot of a post from Sonny Jane, a neurodivergent advocate who is autistic (Pictured)
The doll aims to represent some of the ways autistic people may experience, process, and communicate about the world around them.
Along with a new face sculpt, its features include elbow and wrist articulation to enable stimming and hand flapping.
These and other gestures are used by some members of the autistic community to process sensory information or express excitement.
The doll is also designed with an eye gaze shifted slightly to the side to reflect how some autistic people may avoid direct eye contact.
Em was diagnosed with level one autism in November 2022, one year after her ADHD diagnosis (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).
