“Sesame Street” has long been one of the most iconic shows in the field of children’s entertainment. Several generations of children have grown up watching the popular muppets provide information and entertainment using hilarious scenarios, and the shows effect on the minds of growing children is incalculable. The creators of “Sesame Street” are very aware of their effect on children’s point of view, which is why they decided to add a new character keeping in mind the need to broaden children’s understanding of the world around them.
Meet Julia
The new character on “Sesame Street” is called Julia, and she will be the first personality on the show with Autism.
Julia isn’t a new character technically, as she first made her appearance nearly two years ago in a digital story titled “Seasame Street and Autism: See the amazing in all children." After realizing the value and impact of placing this character in the popular world of “Sesame Street," the creators have now decided to give Julia a permanent berth in the setting.
Stacy Gordon is the puppeteer who will play Julia from April, and she had this to say about her place in the show: “As the parent of a child with autism, I wished that it had come out years before, when my own child was at the Sesame Street age.” (Deadline).
Working on the changes
The creators of “Sesame Street” are quite sensitive to the issues that entail autism, and are weary of portraying the character in a one-dimensional manner.
As it is well known, autism isn’t a disorder that plays out consistently amongst those who are born with it, and it differs widely from one individual to another.
In order to make this new character rich and layered, the team behind the show linked up with various autism organizations and other educators in order to understand the best way to take this character forward.
This is truly a noble step taken by the iconic children’s show, one that is sure to have a massive impact on society in the long-run. It is down to entertainers around the world to take up such radical steps in order to better educate the public about various social issues.
