Seasme Street welcomes its first ever autistic muppet Julia who will help teach children about acceptance and inclusion
The character will help its young viewers to be exposed to autistic traits so that they can better understand them in real life
SESAME Street will be welcoming its first ever autistic muppet to join Big Bird and the rest of the gang.
Julia, who was first revealed in 2015 via Sesame Workshop's Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children initiative, will help to teach children about acceptance and inclusion.
Sesame Street writer Christine Ferraro revealed that the character would allow the show's young viewers to be exposed to autistic traits.
Speaking to Lesley Stahl on , she said: "It's tricky because Autism is not one thing, because it is different for every single person has autism.
"There is an expression that goes, 'If you've met one person with Autism, you've met one person with Autism.'"
MOST READ IN TV & SHOWBIZ
In order to accurately represent the character Sesame Street has worked with various Autism organisations such as Autism Speaks and Autism Self Advocacy.
As with other children on the Autistic spectrum, Julia will have a heightened sensitivity to noises, which could trigger a meltdown.
Julia was introduced in 2015 through digital storybook 'We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3'.
Puppeteer Stacey Gordon, who plays Julia, has admitted that she feels very connected to her as a mother of a child with autism.
She said: "I said, ‘If there’s a puppet, I want to be her. [I thought] it’s so far out there, it’s never going to happen. It’s never going to happen."
Stacey also admitted: "As the parent of a child with autism, I wished that it had come out years before, when my own child was at the Sesame Street age."
The National Autistic Society have since praised the move by Sesame Street to introduce a character with autism into the show.
Mark Lever, Chief Executive of the National Autistic Society, told The Sun Online: "We're really pleased to see a popular TV show like Sesame Street introducing an autistic character. This is a significant step in improving public understanding of autism, and making people on the autism spectrum feel more accepted.
"Almost everyone has heard of autism now. But a much smaller number of people understand what it actually means to be autistic, the difficulties autistic people can face – and their strengths too."
Got a story? Email [email protected] or call us direct on 02077824220