Sesame Street Introduces Julia
The award-winning and much loved children’s television programme “Sesame Street” is introducing a muppet on the autism spectrum. Julia, a little girl with bright orange hair, a toy rabbit and autism will make her television debut later this spring on US channels PBS and HBO. The character has already featured in a number of spin-offs from the television series, which has been circulated world-wide since it first aired in 1969.
Julia Will Help to Raise Awareness About Autism
Helping to raise awareness of autism.
Picture Credit: Zach Hyman/Sesame Street and Associated Press
Explaining About the Autistic Spectrum
Helping people to understand autism and the autistic spectrum is hard enough when it comes to explaining to adults and explaining the condition is young viewers is going to be particularly challenging, but we at Everything Dinosaur praise the production company behind “Sesame Street” for introducing this new character.
In Julia’s debut episode, the colourful and cheerful muppet will demonstrate some common characteristics associated with children on the autistic spectrum. For example, when Big Bird is introduced to her, she ignores him.
Confused, Big Bird thinks “that maybe she didn’t like me”. The other muppets reassure him by explaining that “she does things just a little differently”.
It is about recognising and accepting differences.
Sesame Street Characters Have a New Playmate
An autistic muppet joins the cast of Sesame Street.
Picture Credit: Sesame Street/Associated Press
Sesame Street’s Connection with Diplodocus
A little-known fact is that the “Sesame Street” programme concept was came about during discussions between producer Joan Ganz Cooney and the then Vice President of the Carnegie Foundation Lloyd Morrisett. The Carnegie Foundation was created by Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish industrialist and philanthropist, after whom the Diplodocus species Diplodocus carnegii was named.
The Connection between Sesame Street and Diplodocus
A model of the dinosaur called Diplodocus.
Picture Credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“We welcome this innovation and we hope that the producers will make resources to help teachers explain autism to children available as downloads on the Sesame Street website.”
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