Julia, the show’s first autistic character, was launched on Wednesday morning on a new initiative dubbed as “Sesame Street and Autism: See unbelievable in All Children” in a bid to reduce the stigma of autism.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 1 in 68 children in the U.S.is identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The new online videos and digital story cards are created to explain what autism is, to normal toddlers, from the perspective of a girl with autism.
“Elmo’s daddy told Elmo that she has autism”, Elmo explained as quoted by CBS News. Their interaction may be different, but in the end, they want the same thing as all children do: to make friends and play. “Sometimes Elmo talks to Julia using fewer words and says the same things a few times”.
“But Michael Robb, Director of Research for Common Sense Media, an organization that rates and reviews media aimed at children, says Sesame Street’s move is ‘pretty groundbreaking'”. “It is our hope that kids with autism will feel more included and understood as the general public becomes more aware of the similarities all children share”.
“The Sesame Street campaign is really helping them see that they’re not alone, and for kids that don’t have autism and their families, they are learning about what autism is and how kids with autism aren’t that dissimilar from themselves”, Rosanoff said. Julia will then be introduced on the popular kids TV show.
All cheers for Julia, the newest friend to join Elmo, Big Bird and the “Sesame Street” family in a new program created to spread awareness about children with autism. The character also has critics.
Sherrie Westin, vice president of global impacts has stated that autistic children rarely look at other people when trying to interact with them. “We’re trying to eliminate misconceptions, and a lot of people think that only boys have autism”.
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The producers of the children’s TV program are waiting for feedback from the autism community.
