Doll | Barbie:Sign Language Barbie

In 1999 Mattel, Inc. developed the ALS Barbie, otherwise known as Sign Language Barbie, with assistance from the National Center on Deafness at Cal State U at Northridge, California. The manufacturer intended its ALS Barbie to acknowledge physically challenged children much like its Share a Smile Becky, Barbie wheel-chair bound photographer friend. ALS Barbie is a teacher of American Sign Language as the doll's packaging includes images of finger-spelling signs for each letter of the alphabet, illustrations of common words in sign language, and a chalkboard. Barbie's hand is molded to sign the phrase "I love you." Mattel promoted the doll as "enabling children, who are not challenged by deafness, to communicate and thus befriend children they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to interact with."