Sesame Street introduces their first autistic character, Julia. And like all their other characters, she isn’t looked at as a muppet with Autism but rather as an inclusive part of the Sesame Street family.
‘Sesame Street’s’ newest Muppet is Julia, a 4-year-old with blazing red hair, bright green eyes, and autism. She’s been in Sesame Workshop print and digital illustrations for more than a year, and makes her TV debut April 10 on both PBS and HBO.
Julia has been a part of the “Sesame Street” family in a digital storybook called ‘We’re Amazing, 1, 2, 3’ in 2015.
She was so popular and struck a chord with so many, especially with families of kids with autism that the decision was made to add this special character to the TV series. Sesame created a campaign called “See Amazing in All Children,” to give children with autism and their families someone to identify with and to bring awareness to educate those that don’t identify with it. In the US alone, one in 68 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder so this is undeniably a great way to combat the stigmas associated with this disorder.
This week, CBS’ 60 Minutes aired a special story on Julia. Get your tissues ready…
ALSO READ: MORE ON JULIA
Sources: CBS News, 60 Minutes, DailyMail UK, NPR, Associate Press, autism.sesamestreet.org