The newest resident on Sesame Street does things “differently,” but her neighbors are learning that everything’s A-OK.
Julia is the first Sesame Street character to be portrayed with autism and she’s there to help other kids relate to people like her.
The new orange-haired Muppet hasn’t appeared on the show yet, but she’s featured in her own storybook, We’re Amazing, 1,2,3.
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In the story, Elmo and Julia go on a playdate together. They’re joined by Abby Cadabby who doesn’t understand Julia’s autism until Elmo explains it.
“Elmo’s daddy told Elmo that Julia has autism,” he says in the online book. “So she does things a little differently.”
.@SesameStreet and Autism: #SeeAmazing in All Children is finally here! Visit https://t.co/gh3bhOJEGX for tools now! pic.twitter.com/oFotOwnVGb
— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) October 21, 2015
The storybook and character are part of Sesame Street’s new autism project, “See Amazing in All Children.” It launched online Wednesday and features a free, downloadable app with videos and stories to help kids understand autism.
Sesame Workshop has partnered with 14 education and autism groups to share their project in schools. The show’s producers are waiting for reaction from the autism community before putting Julia on the broadcast. Image credit: Sesame Workshop