Autistic Kids are Welcome on Sesame Street

A new character is moving onto the iconic children’s television show “Sesame Street” this April, and she has lessons for kids who were formerly nowhere to be found. Red-haired Muppet Julia is Sesame Street’s first autistic character.

Julia was first introduced in an online storybook as part of an initiative on the Sesame Street website. The site encourages visitors to “see amazing in all children” and provides resources teaching about autism and how to raise autistic children, including “daily routine cards,” which detail social behavior and testimonials from autistic people and their families. However, the initial release of Julia was met with some criticism from the autistic community. Some found the usage of “person first language” (saying “person with autism” rather than “autistic person”) patronizing and criticized the usage of testimonials from autistic people’s families over testimonials from autistic people themselves. Many also called out how Autism Speaks—a prominent autism advocacy organization that has faced huge backlash for portraying autism as a disease to be eradicated—was listed as a resource.

While some of these criticisms are valid, the announcement of Julia officially joining the cast has been received warmly. It is rare for an autistic character to become an official cast member of a major TV show, as they usually only exist for one episode to teach a lesson about autism. The network has stated that Julia will become a recurring member of the main cast of this landmark children’s show; if she is portrayed as a character who happens to have autism rather than a “token” character who only exists to teach about autism, it will be a major step forward for the entertainment industry.

Julia made her official television debut on April 10, on HBO, but there are also several videos available online featuring Julia, both animated and in muppet form. These videos demonstrate several of her autistic behaviors: flapping her hands (known as “stimming”), delayed responses to her friends, limited speech, and not looking people in the eye. However, she is never demonized for her symptoms. Whenever characters are concerned about Julia’s behavior, Elmo explains politely that Julia is autistic and thus communicates differently from most, and the characters agree and accommodate to her needs when playing with her. Julia’s autistic traits are even put in a positive light in some cases. In one animated short, Julia is playing “I Spy” with Elmo and Abby Cadabby and is able to find the tiny red object that Elmo wants her to because of her strong attention to detail—a common autistic trait. In a live action short, Julia doesn’t respond to Elmo when he asks her to play. Without hesitating, Elmo happily decides to play next to Julia instead and reminds the viewer that “there [are] lots of ways friends can play!”

Like any other character on the show, Julia is just as quirky as the real children who will watch her on television. While this might not sound too important for a character on a children’s show, in Julia’s case, it’s groundbreaking. By definition, a “token autistic character” exists only for the purpose of being autistic, instead of being a three-dimensional person. Julia may only be a puppet, but she has a three-dimensional personality that comes through in the videos featuring her that have already been released. In one of these clips, Abby Cadabby blows bubbles and reveals that Julia loves popping them. In another, Elmo mentions that Julia’s stuffed animal “Fluffster” is her favorite toy. In both videos, Julia says only a few words—implying that she’s nonverbal. At the same time, her friends are always happy to talk to her. Watching this, children at home can learn that autistic people are complex and internalize the idea that being friends with autistic kids and making an effort to communicate with them when they express themselves differently is not only great, but normal.

Like other children’s shows, “Sesame Street” is meant to teach young children basic life lessons and skills. Every plotline and character provides some insight into how to learn new things, how to make friends, how to resolve an argument, how to be kind to others, how to shake hands and play with other children, and other common skills. The mainstream media is accepting that knowing how to understand, befriend, and respect autistic people is important—important enough to teach the next generation that, right along with the ABC’s.

One progressive aspect of Julia that can be easily overlooked is her gender. The fact that Julia is an autistic girl is its own leap forward and can fight common misconceptions about who autism affects. There is a notable lean towards autistic boys and men in the media, and autism is significantly underdiagnosed in women—the original definition of autistic psychopathy by Hans Asperger didn’t even include women or girls as affected. Including more autistic girls in media, like Julia, should be celebrated. It reminds people that autism is not a “boy’s disorder” and lets young autistic girls see themselves represented.

“Sesame Street” is no stranger to exposing children to reality in a mature fashion. They’ve had episodes dealing with pregnancy and birth, death of a loved one, bullying, poverty, and cultural pride. Julia isn’t even the only groundbreaking character to come to the street this year, as another new Muppet, Alex, has a father in jail, providing support for children with incarcerated family members. Many children’s shows would shy away from these topics, but “Sesame Street” is using its mainstream popularity to take a few risks.