'I finally feel represented by autistic Barbie'

A 52-year-old autistic woman said she "finally feels like she is represented" by a Barbie doll launched on Monday.

Lisa Ventura, from Worcester, was diagnosed as autistic when she was 44 after being prompted by her GP to take part in a local study.

Commenting on Mattel's new autistic Barbie, she said she had already ordered one and her "inner child was so excited".

She added her autism diagnosis in her 40s had "transformed her marriage" and helped her understand lifelong feelings of difference.

The new doll wears loose clothing, to minimise clothes-to-skin contact, and its eyes look slightly to the side. It also comes with a pink fidget spinner, and wears noise-cancelling headphones.

Its design is intended to represent experiences autistic people would relate to, such as sensory overload, and has been welcomed by campaigners.

Writing in the Metro, Ventura said she had cried when reading about the launch online.

She told BBC Radio WM she had preferred toy cars and Star Wars figures to Barbie and Sindy dolls as a child.

"I did try to play with them because I thought I should play with them, but it wasn't a feeling of joy," she said.

When she learned about the new doll, she said: "I was like, 'oh my goodness finally I feel like I'm represented in this doll'.

"I love her and I've got one on order."

The cyber security specialist said life was made "very much" easier by her diagnosis, which came after taking part in a study into undiagnosed autism in women in Worcester between the ages of 40 and 45.

"It was like a lightbulb had gone off in my head, because all my life I was like, 'I know I'm different and I don't know why I can't fit in'," she said.

"I don't understand various things or jokes or groups of people and crowds and noise gets to me as well.

"It's actually transformed my marriage with my husband, because he now understands I don't do things on purpose like leave the lights on, or don't unload the dishwasher, or forget the washing."

Creator Mattel said the doll invited more children to see themselves represented in Barbie.

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