Sesame Street's New Character With Autism; Community Support Rises For New Production
Meet Julia. A cheerful girl with beautiful wide green eyes, and bright orange hair. Also, she has autism, CNN reported.
The latest creation from the Sesame workshop joins Elmo, Grover, Abby, and the rest of the family in a new program called "Sesame Street and Autism: See All in Amazing Children." The new program was launched, Wednesday morning.
Said show is designed to promote awareness, and reduce the stigma on children with autism, according to a report on People. This initiative is created for families with children ages two to five , includes a free downloadable application which includes digital story cards, and videos.
"Children with autism are five times more likely to get bullied" says Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, the senior vice president of community and family engagement at Sesame Workshop. "Our goal is to bring forth what all children share in common, not their differences. Children with autism share in the joy of playing and loving and being friends and being part of a group."
One in 68 U.S.children has an autism spectrum disorder(ASD), according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2014 report by the CDC estimates that 1 in 42 boys has autism, 4.5 times as many as girls (1 in 189).
"Sesame Workshop is uniquely positioned to play a meaningful role in increasing peoples' understanding about autism," Sherrie Westin, Executive vice president of global impact and philantrophy said in a statement.
"This project is an extension of the belief we've always promoted: 'We are all different, but all the same.' I am passionate about this initiative, and am so proud of the partnerships with the autism community that have led to this."
It took three years for researchers to develop the initiative and hope it will ultimately bring people together.
#SeeAmazing is used by Sesame Street to encourage people to keep the support, and conversation going. Everybody can share pictures, videos, and stories. Resources for kids, teachers, and parents can be found at www.SesameStreet.org/Autism.
