'Sesame Street' Introduces First Character with Autism - Meet Julia!

Sesame Street is introducing a character named Julia, who has autism.

Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop’s senior vice president of U.S. Social Impact, spoke about the addition to the popular children’s show.

“In the U.S., one in 68 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder,” Jeanette said (via the Chicago Tribune). “We wanted to promote a better understanding and reduce the stigma often found around these children. We’re modeling the way both children and adults can look at autism from a strength-based perspective: finding things that all children share….Just as we look at all children as being unique, we should do the same thing when we’re looking at children with autism.”

The first episode to introduce Julie – titled “Meet Julia,” airs Monday, April 10 on HBO.

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