Meet Julia - The Muppet With Autism

The creators of Sesame Street decided to bring a new character on the show, and it’s definitely probably the most amazing thing ever. The puppet based show has always done a great job with helping kids learn how to act with other children in a school setting, at home, helping with them learn education, how to be polite and respectful, and now, how to act and help a child who has autism. A 4-year old autistic girl named Julia is coming to the show in April.

Back in 2015, one of the writers, Christine Ferraro, stated that she wants to introduce a new factor to the show because of increased diagnoses of autism within the past few decades and with this being her new “baby”, they can help teach other kids who do not have this disorder, how to interact with children who do, much better. This can help kids with autism feel more “wanted” and like they’re not too much different than other kids, especially at a young age.

How will they get someone to play this part you ask? Well, the girl’s puppeteer, Stacey Gordon actually has a son with autism and she believes this a huge step in letting the world truly “see kids” in a different light.

“…our kids are important enough to be seen in society. Had my son’s friends been exposed to his behavior through something that they had seen on TV before they experienced them in a classroom, they might not have been frightened.” She also added, “It’s important for kids without autism to see what autism can look like.”

One day Ferraro hopes that Julia can be a main character on the show, and not just be a girl with autism, but for now, we’ve got one big step for kids with a disorder and we’re so proud.

We can’t wait to meet her!

Here's a clip of her friend learning how to play with her!