The members from “Sesame Street” are welcoming a new character to the neighborhood: Julia. Julia is a girl with bright orange hair and big green eyes, who also has autism. Even though not all children who watch the show are living with autism, many children know at least one person who has it. This is a way for children to feel more comfortable around children with autism, and to help them understand how children with autism are a little different from them. Having Julia on the show also offers a relatable character for someone who has autism.

The first episode was launched online on Wednesday in part of the educational and awareness initiative. In making this character, there was a lot of hope in suppressing the amount of bullying that happens to children with autism. One in every 68 children have autism and are also five times more prone to being bullied, “I am thrilled to see that Sesame Street has added a character who is Autistic. Many of these children are misunderstood and often bullied. Being better informed can only help.” Says WHHS child development teacher, Patricia Uhr. The intended goal is to highlight the children’s similarities such as, playing, loving, being friends and being part of a group, and not to focus on their differences. As the children watch the show, they will see everyone playing contentedly together and will mirror what they do and understand that children with autism enjoy interacting with a group of kids. This is a wonderful promotion of looking past the differences in people and being able to work together as a team.