SESAME STREET to Introduce First Muppet Character with Autism

Sunday night's 60 MINUTES on CBS featured SESAME STREET's first character with autism named Julia, who will make her first appearance on the long-running children's series this April. The muppet first appeared in October 2015 in an online Digital Storybook story titled SESAME STREET and Autism: See the amazing in all children.

Stacey Gordon, the puppeteer who lends her voice and talents to Julia told 60 Minutes, "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."

Sesame Street writer Christine Ferraro shared, "It's tricky because autism is not one thing, because it is different for every single person who has autism." According to the report, the creators teamed with autism organizations, educators, and families to determine the best approach to portray the character and explain autism to the show's pre-school audience.

Commented Rosemarie Truglio, Senior Vice President for Curriculum and Content at Sesame Workshop , "We're going to tell you more about what that means, and why she's acting this way. Give children that information. She's acting this way because she's on the autism spectrum."

60 Minutes shared a first look at Julia on Twitter:

Source: Deadline