Sesame Street's New Character Julia (Photo : Twitter)
A new Muppet character named Julia will soon join Kermit the Frog, Elmo, Big Bird, and the rest of the "Sesame Street" gang. The orange-haired, big-eyed preschool girl with autism is featured in a digital storybook titled "We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3" and will make her TV debut later. For a year the children's television show has been teaming up with various organizations to reduce the stigma connected to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Julia is part of the "Sesame Street" autism awareness campaign "See Amazing All Children." The Muppet Abby Cadabby shares in a YouTube video that kids with autism have brains that work a bit differently.
Michael Robb is the Director of Research at Common Sense Media. He described the new "Sesame Street" character as "groundbreaking" because it is about a disability that is not visible, according to NPR.
Robb praised the digital storybook as effective. It uses simple language, shows concrete examples, and portrays Julia as an average kid who can live a normal life.
About 2.4 percent of boys are diagnosed with autism, and the figure is five times higher than among autistic girls, according to Los Angeles Times. Sherrie Westin is a "Sesame Street" executive vice president. Westin explained that at first she was surprised that autism researchers recommended a girl character, but then learned that the goal was to address the common misconception that only boys have the mental disorder.
The producers of the children's TV program are waiting for feedback from the autism community. Julia will then be introduced on the popular kids TV show.
"Sesame Street" was first aired in November 1969. Since then it has produced over 4,500 episodes and won 159 Emmy Awards.
