The doll joins the Barbie Fashionistas collection, which features diverse range of skin tones, hair textures, body types, and various medical conditions and disabilities such as type 1 diabetes, Down syndrome and blindness.

Available starting on January 12, 2026, at Mattel Shop and Target is the first-ever autistic Barbie doll. Mattel’s Global Head of Dolls, Jamie Cygielman, says the doll “helps to expand what inclusion looks like in the toy aisle and beyond because every child deserves to see themselves in Barbie.”

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,

The doll features a gaze that is shifted slightly to the side, to “[reflect] how some members of the autistic community may avoid direct eye contact.”