After almost 50 years on TV, it’s safe to say that multiple generations have felt the influence of growing up with Sesame Street .
How many of us learned our numbers alongside the Count, our letters with Bert & Ernie, and our colors with Grover? It’s a staple, and as we have grown up with Sesame Street , it has grown with the times as well.
Reflecting the rise in autism rates, in 2017 ‘Sesame Street’ introduced Julia, a new, redheaded muppet character with autism.
Right from the start, Julia was a big addition to the show. “It means that our kids are important enough to be seen in society,” Julia’s puppeteer Stacey Gordon told CBS .
Gordon isn’t just Julia’s puppeteer — she’s also mother to a son on the spectrum. “Having Julia on the show and seeing all of the characters treat her with compassion…it’s huge.”
Adding Julia to the show wasn’t as easy as it might seem in retrospect.
As senior writer Christine Ferraro told [CBS](( https://www.cbsnews.com/news/julia-sesame-street-new-muppet-autism/ ), “autism is not one thing, because it is different for every single person who has autism. There is an expression that goes, ‘If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.'”
Of course, overcoming challenges has always been a part of the messaging on ‘Sesame Street,’ and so the writers have been up to the task of doing Julia’s character justice.
In a segment for Good Morning America , Elmo said that “Julia has autism, and that makes Julia different…But it’s really cool that everybody’s a little bit different but same, too. And Elmo and Julia have a lot in common, and we have a lot of fun together.”
Two years after her debut, as part of Autism Awareness Month ‘Sesame Street’ is introducing a whole family for Julia.
She has an art teacher mother, a dad who plays a saxophone, an older brother who looks out for her, and a dog named Rose.
“Children with autism often face unique challenges, as do their parents and siblings,” said Sherrie Westin, Sesame Workshop’s president of global impact and philanthropy.
And focusing on families is right up the show’s alley, regardless of their makeup.
“[Every] family faces challenges of some sort, which is why we are focusing on what all families have in common,” Westin continued. “In a family, everyone has different roles, challenges, and strengths, and everyone can learn from one another.”
It’s not clear what size of role Julia’s family will take on the show.
But the hope is that seeing how they all interact will be helpful to families with children with autism.
As Julia’s brother Sam told Good Morning America , he wants people to know that “it may take a few tries to get to know Julia. But just because she doesn’t respond doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be friends.”
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The show is helping families in other ways, too.
Along with Julia’s family, Sesame Street also introduced new resources for families with children with autism on their website for Autism Awareness Month.
The resources include videos and materials that focus particularly on dealing with bullying.
Julia will be showing up in more places than just Sesame Street, too.
The show has partnered with Autism Speaks and the Ad Council, lending her to their awareness campaign about recognizing the early signs of autism and the need for early intervention.
