Sesame Street’s first Muppet with autism, Julia, was spotted during this year’s Thanksgiving Day Parade wearing noise-cancelling headphones to help control sensory overload! People in the autism community were elated and touched to see this representation, as reflected in viral tweets on social media. One parent wrote, “My autistic daughter saw Julia on the Sesame Street float and said, ‘There’s Julia wearing her headphones because she’s autistic.’ Seeing others like her represented in society is so important for my girl, it makes her feel included and loved.” To read the full The Mighty article, click here: https://themighty.com/2018/11/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-autism-julia-sesame-street-noise-canceling-headphones/
Since 2015, Sesame Street has made it a priority to promote understanding of autism as they launched their online initiative “Sesame Street and Autism: Seeing Amazing in All Children” featuring Julia in a storybook called “We’re Amazing, 1, 2, 3.” Check out Sesame Street’s online Julia-related materials here: http://autism.sesamestreet.org/
Just a reminder that representation matters and even small gestures, such as putting on headphones, can make a huge impact.