Sesame Street” has long been known for celebrating diversity. Characters in the show deal with hardships such as racism, divorce, disabilities, death and Down Syndrome. They’ve also had a muppet character who was HIV positive as well as an Afghan muppet that promoted girls’ rights.
A new character is coming to “Sesame Street”. Julia, who is a muppet with Autism, has been in the works since 2015 when she was a character in the digital story book “We’re Amazing 123”. Julia marks an important milestone in being the first muppet with Autism as well as being the first new character added into the mix of characters in 10 years.
The digital storybook received praise from parents and children. It was decided to bring Julia in as a muppet. Julia expresses herself by flapping her arms, painting and jumping up and down. Julia has blazing red hair, a unique nose and specially designed oval-shaped eyes.
The writers of “Sesame Street” wanted the character to be relatable for children with Autism as well as family and friends of someone who has Autism. The writers based the creation of Julia on research to make sure that they get her right since each person on the spectrum has a different experience for each and every person that has it. They spent years consulting experts, doctors, organizations and families. They decided to pick one personality path for Julia and stick with it. One of the main goals of the character was to teach children how children with Autism react.
When Stacy Gordon, a puppeteer for the show, heard about Julia becoming a muppet, she instantly wanted to play Julia. Her son has a form of Autism so Julia’s character really hit home for her. She wants to show children on the spectrum of Autism that they are special and that they are the same as everyone else.