Meet Julia, Sesame Street’s first autistic character

“My kids just want to be friends with everyone else, like any other kid would”, says mother of two Teresa Wergedal, who hopes Julia and the show will answer questions people may have surrounding autism. Gordon told 60 Minutes that she even channeled her son’s experiences for a tough scene where Julia’s heightened sensitivity to noise triggers a meltdown when she hears sirens. They’ll grow up knowing that it’s there and it won’t worry them and they can treat everyone equally.

“Having Julia on the show and seeing all of the characters treat her with compassion.it’s huge”, Gordon told 60 Minutes, according to New York Daily News. Julia’s first time on the small screen will focus on her meeting Big Bird, who is confused when Julia doesn’t immediately respond to his welcome.

“I thought that maybe she didn’t like me”, he said.

She also plays the “Boing Boing Tag” game with Abby.

Julia was so well-received that the company chose to make her a permanent fixture of the television cast.

Leslie Kimmelman, a children’s author, explained she was inspired by her own son when she created Julia’s character in her book, “We’re unbelievable 1, 2, 3”.

There’s a new face on “Sesame Street”.

She’s the first member of the beloved Muppet gang with autism, and her puppeteer is a Phoenix woman with a personal connection to the disorder.

“We are just thrilled beyond belief to see kids with autism spectrum disorders represented on Sesame Street, of all programs. If you have met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism”, Kelsey Rohr said on YouTube.

Julia is one of the multiple characters the show has added to reach out to specific communities of children, such as kids with same-sex parents, military families and kids with an incarcerated parent. There is no medical treatment for ASD, but various therapeutic interventions may promote development in children with autism.

Sesame Street has welcomed a new Muppet to the block – she’s four-years-old, she has red hair and she has autism.

Sesame Street has a long and storied history of teaching kids about social and societal differences with gentle smarts.

In developing Julia, and outside educational tools for children with autism, the Sesame Street Workshop consulted 14 autism groups. They would have known that he plays in a different way and that’s okay.