In case you didn’t know, April is Autism Awareness month. The purpose of Autism Awareness month is to promote autism awareness, inclusion and self-determination, it allows each person with autism to achieve the highest possible quality of life. 1 in 68 children in the U.S. has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) People with autism “may communicate, interact, behave and learn in ways that are different from other people.”
The beloved show that has been around for many of years, Sesame Street, debuted their first character with autism this month. Her name is Julia and she helps other Muppets and people on the show understand that she may do things (communicating, interacting, behave and learn) differently, but that most importantly, she still wants to befriend them! If you’re reading this then there’s a good chance you don’t watch Sesame Street everyday like you used to (it’s totally okay if you do though). There’s a video going around on social media though that shows Julia’s debut and I’ve never loved a character more than I love her. She is sweet and fun. Alan does a great job of explaining her actions to Big Bird who seems confused at first. Kudos to Sesame Street for introducing Julia and making her apart of the crew, but also spreading awareness on the fact that even people who are different than us are still wonderful and deserve love and respect.