Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: HBO, sesame street
Sesame Street Introducing New Autistic Muppet
There's still no word on whether that Sesame Street movie will be a grim and gritty R-rated affair, but the latest news about everyone's favorite educational children's program is that they're introducing a new muppet! According to a report on 60 Minutes, the new character, Julia, will be a muppet with autism. Introduced during a scene where she doesn't respond to a greeting from Big Bird, Julia will display characteristics common to children with autism as part of an effort to "normalize autism for all children" so that, as longtime Sesame Street writer Christine Ferraro says, "when they encounter them in their real life it's familiar. And they see that these– these can be their friends too."
The producers worked with autism groups to define what those characteristics should be, understanding that, as Ferraro says, "It's tricky because autism is not one thing, because it is different for every single person who has autism." The endgame: "I would love her to be not Julia, the kid on Sesame Street who has autism. I would like her to be just Julia."
You can watch a scene with Julia below: