What’s not to love about playing music with friends or promoting diversity in communication? She can be a little shy, but Elmo … The 100 Days Guide for Young Children, on the other hand, says the exact opposite more than a dozen times. An autistic Sesame Street character is caught in a conflict between the most prominent autism organisation in the United States. By Peter Bochner. It takes about two minutes and can be used to evaluate whether your child is keeping up with developmental milestones. Singing about it, of course! In an exclusive announcement on People.com on Wednesday morning , Sesame Workshop introduced Julia, a muppet with autism, as part of a new initiative called Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children . She was a triumph of representation for people like me. All of Michelle Obama! At first, it might not be so obvious what’s wrong with the partnership. Sesame Street Introduces Julia, A Muppet With Autism Julia has bright red hair, big green eyes and she loves to draw. Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop’s senior vice president for social impact in the US says, “We truly value all our partners, including ASAN, and are disappointed, but we understand their perspective, and we respect it.”, It should be noted that Julia has had some major success while being on air. Julia, new Sesame Street character with autism. ": Judy Blume’s Charming, Stressful Tale of How She Got the COVID Vaccine. Autism Speaks is one of the largest, most visible autism charities. (In an email, Autism Speaks said, “The 100 Day Kit is not intended to provide medical advice, but rather to provide general information about autism services to the community to help them make informed personal decisions.”), Autism Speaks, a longtime hotbed of controversy, currently asserts that it is not, in fact, searching for a cure for autism. The kit even has an entire section outlining how parents may go through the Kübler-Ross stages of grief. Sesame Street is adding a new character to its ranks – a muppet called Julia, who has autism. Parentology is your information destination for parenting in the digital age. Julia demonstrates simple ways to make wearing a mask easier. Which is why I am overjoyed that Sesame Street has introduced an autistic muppet, called Julia (who will be operated by a woman, Stacey Gordon, who has a son with autism). UPDATED: Teen Locked Up Abroad For Violating COVID-19 Quarantine... STUDY: Why Some Kids with Mood Disorders Have Higher... Moms Boycott Baby Guru’s Parenting Courses Because She Donated To Trump, How Music Can Improve Your Child’s Mental Health, Do These Things If Your Child Has a Concussion. And now, Julia is being used to promote a resource that suggests parents of newly diagnosed autistic children go through the five stages of grief for their (still-living) child, among other regressive and dangerous narratives about autism. Freelance book editor for Sesame Workshop, Leslie Kimmelman, created Julia with her own experiences in mind. Crucially, one of the groups behind Julia was the Autistic Self Advocacy Network—the only national organization by and for autistic people in the United States. You can cancel anytime. A new character is joining Elmo, Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird on Sesame Street – her name is Julia and she is the first muppet with autism. This is relatively harmless—I and many other autistic adults feel that funding, and focus, on early diagnosis is disproportionate to the benefits and excessive, but it’s hardly offensive. As a mother of an autistic child, she was able to characterize Julia. Julia’s difference is embraced by her friends. According to ASAN, contacts at Sesame Workshop “acknowledged that the Autism Speaks resources were harmful and portrayed autistic children in a negative light” but decided to move forward with the ad campaigns. Why Sesame Street’s new character isn’t representative of most kids with autism Meet Julia, Sesame Street’s newest muppet. Marybeth Nelson / Sesame Workshop "Elmo's daddy told Elmo that Julia has autism," he says. Julia is so refreshing because she is portrayed as a normal child—she plays, she has friends, she has a family. Meet Julia, an old buddy of Elmo’s and the newest friend on Sesame Street. The kit includes useful tools for advocating for a child’s inclusive education and keeping appointments organized, for example. Keep Amazing Going. People usually say she does things in a "Julia sort of way." What’s better than spending time together as a family? Four years ago, Sesame Street introduced Julia, its first new Muppet in 10 years. Fluffster Wears a Mask. ASAN decided to cut ties with Sesame Street after the show partnered with Autism Speaks for public service announcements that push the 100 Day Kit, over the former group’s vehement objection. Sesame Workshop aimed to reduce “the stigma of autism” through the characterization of Julia in the digital storybook, We’re Amazing, 1, 2, 3!. Where the “Sesame Street” characters fall on the economic continuum Show producers welcomed input on developing the character, said Julia Bascom, deputy executive director of the Autistic … 60 Minutes visits "Sesame Street" for the first time and films the debut of their new Muppet character, Julia, who has autism Much fanfare was made last year when the word cure was removed from its mission statement. This post originally ran in October 2015. Many people on the autism spectrum who have sensory sensitivities dislike certain types of physical touch, such as hugging. One of her concerns includes a “100 Day kit” that aims to help parents for 100 days following the diagnosis. ASAN’s decision to break with Sesame Street this month might seem surprising at first glance, but it came on the heels of the show’s baffling partnership with another group that’s enduringly divisive among advocates: Autism Speaks. Bravo, Sesame Street – your character with autism will … The 100 Day Kit features a persistent narrative that having a child like me or, Ensconced in Tendons, Ligaments, and Muscles, “I Think My Gmail Has Crashed”: The Teacher Who Made Bernie Sanders’ Mittens on Watching Them Go Viral, Kamala’s Nieces! Sesame Street is introducing its first character with autism.. Julia, a little yellow Muppet girl, is part of a campaign to reduce stigma surrounding the disorder. The Autism Speaks PSAs promote a message diametrically opposed to the spirit and purpose of the character. However, things have recently taken a turn, and now critics are saying that Sesame Street is stigmatizing autism. The first Sesame Street muppet with autism, Julia, has made her debut on TV in the US. We are rarely the ones who tell our own stories, and most of the stories other people tell about us are sensational or just downright awful. In May 2019, a study in the international peer-reviewed journal Autism stated, “Following exposure, parents of non-autistic children showed small but significant increases in knowledge of autism and, like parents of autistic children, greater acceptance of autistic children.”, Similarly, the journal describes, “Parents of autistic children reported less strain, increased parenting competence, and more hope about involving their child in their community.”. After nearly a decade of featuring the same Muppet characters, Sesame Street added a yellow Muppet named Julia. As a result, ASAN ended their partnership. What could possibly be wrong? Julia was even featured on a float in last year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. But those differences are embraced by the people around her. I am autistic, like Julia. All Rights Reserved. Unfortunately, ASAN’s departure has shifted public perception of Julia. “Great strides have been made and the current state of progress is a far cry from the time when parents were given no hope for their children.” It’s not hard to see why the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, an organization dedicated to acceptance and inclusion, was forced to cut ties with Sesame Street. Julia, a Sesame Street character meant to represent a child with autism, is shown here at the 2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Slate relies on advertising to support our journalism. I hope Sesame Workshop reconsiders its puzzling decision to promote harmful narratives about autism—after waiting so long for a character like her, autistic people like me deserve to love and embrace Julia in an uncomplicated way. Meet Sesame Street's First Character with Autism: 'We Want to Create Greater Awareness and Empathy' Julia, a new muppet with autism, will join Grover and Elmo in their Sesame Street … She is a young girl with bright orange hair and big green eyes and is friends with Elmo and Abby. According to ASAN, the materials relating to the campaign stigmatized children with autism and their families. “We all can feel happy, we all can feel mad” doesn’t sound revolutionary, but many still believe that autistic people don’t feel at all. Then there are smaller suggestions that children like me are a tragedy: In one parental anecdote, a mother complains about how a kid at her child’s preschool who was diagnosed with leukemia is getting all the attention she deserves, as if having a child with cancer and a child with a developmental disability are at all comparable. These personal experiences, coupled with input from teams of researchers and advocacy groups, created what they believed to be an accurate portrayal of an autistic character. People go out of their way to understand and include her. I Love My Family. The Altogether Thrilling Fashion of the Inauguration, Reviewed, On the Eve of Her Father’s Ouster, Tiffany Trump Has Her Most Pathetic Moment Yet, “What Do I Do? Ironically, a felt puppet with a traffic-cone-orange nose is one of the most realistic, informed, and positive representations of autism to ever appear on television. The four-year-old girl with an orange bob-cut and green eyes debuted in 2015 as part of the Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children initiative. But she speaks volumes about life on the spectrum “It recommends compliance-based ‘therapies’ and pseudoscientific ‘autism diets,’ but fails to educate families about communication supports. Meet Julia, an old buddy of Elmo’s and the newest friend on Sesame Street. “The 100 Day Kit encourages parents to blame family difficulties on their autistic child … and to view autism as a terrible disease from which their child can ‘get better,'” the statement reads. Sesame Street’s Autistic Muppet, Julia, Accused of Stigmatizing Autism. Autistic Self Advocacy Network: ASAN Has Ended Partnership With Sesame StreetSage Journal: The impact of the Sesame Street “See Amazing in All Children” initiativeFast Company: Sesame Street’s autistic muppet, Julia, was a huge success. Sesame Street’s new character to tackle autism stigma. The writers at Sesame Street understand this challenge, and consulted with a number of different autism organizations to develop their character. The way we talk about autism’s impact on families matters. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. A muppet character named Julia is now part of Sesame Street Workshop‘s new online initiative, called Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children.. ASAN Has Ended Partnership With Sesame Street, The impact of the Sesame Street “See Amazing in All Children” initiative, Sesame Street’s autistic muppet, Julia, was a huge success. You’ve run out of free articles. Join Slate Plus to continue reading, and you’ll get unlimited access to all our work—and support Slate’s independent journalism. The problem is, it also weaves incredibly harmful information with useful information with little to no distinction. Newest "Sesame Street" Muppet has autism: Meet Julia. Named Julia, the character was revealed through Sesame Workshop's Sesame Street … The character was first introduced during the new Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children. All rights reserved. And you'll never see this message again. The ads encourage viewers to have their children screened for autism and points to a resource on the Autism Speaks website that declares, “For Julia’s family, early screening made a lifetime of difference.” The first and biggest link on the page is a test called the M-CHAT-R (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised). Unfortunately, the campaign provoked the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) to end their partnership with Sesame Workshop. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network condemns Sesame Street’s decision to further stigma against autistic children and adults in their new Public Service Announcements. The newest Sesame Street character, Julia, is a little girl who also has autism. Thu Jan 07 2021. Sesame Street and Autism - See Amazing in All Children. This is a list of fictional characters that have been explicitly described within the work in which they appear, or otherwise by the author, as having conditions on the autism spectrum.It is not intended to include speculation. Without a doubt, the digital storybook and its materials have been an effective resource in transforming knowledge about developmental disorders. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. The Sesame Workshop says she is being introduced as part of a campaign to take the stigma away from the disorder. According to ASAN’s statement, “Like much of Autism Speaks’ recent advertising, these PSAs use the language of acceptance and understanding to push resources that further stigma and treat autistic people as burdens on our families.”. @2021 Parentology. Julia, a new autistic muppet character, will join the cast of "Sesame Street" in April. In 2017, Sesame Street introduced a new Muppet named Julia, who is an autistic 4-year-old. What happens if the test comes up positive, though? It even instructs parents to go through the five stages of grief after learning that their child is autistic, as they would if the child had died.”. This is listed alongside medically validated autism interventions like occupational therapy. Watch the Video. But now, the organization is no longer involved. Meet Julia. After nearly a decade of featuring the same Muppet characters, Sesame Street added a yellow Muppet named Julia. Julia is sunshine-yellow and never without her beloved rabbit, Fluffster. At first only in an online picture book, and later the show itself, the character, an autistic 4-year-old girl, was shaped by a diverse group of autism advocates and researchers. By joining Slate Plus you support our work and get exclusive content. For the record: Nobody has ever died of autism. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thanks for signing up! In April, Sesame Street will introduce Julia, a new character who has autism.Julia is not exactly a stranger to the neighborhood, having first appeared in a “digital storybook” released in 2015, which itself was enough to get parents excited. Want to know more about Autism and its early signs? When you watch the Autism Speaks ad spots in question, everything seems to be about acceptance. It’s only when you click through to the resource itself that things begin to get murky. The 100 Day Kit features a persistent narrative that having a child like me or Sesame Street’s Julia is like having a child who has died. Julia is a four-year-old girl with autism from Sesame Street, introduced in 2015 as part of the Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children initiative. Additionally, ASAN’s director of operations, Zoe Gross says the problem lies in what the organization is endorsing in the episodes/ads featuring Julia. It was groundbreaking that Sesame Street told stories about an autistic person in consultation with actual autistic people. Similarly, Julia is performed by Stacey Gordon, who also has her own experiences raising an autistic son. As the group explained, infuriatingly, “Our contacts acknowledged that the Autism Speaks resources were harmful and portrayed autistic children in a negative light—yet they were unwilling to reverse course in their plans to promote them.”. Now, the program is breaking new ground by introducing a character with autism, a Muppet named Julia. … Send me updates about Slate special offers. An autistic character is now part of Sesame Street, it emerged Wednesday. Instead of a childhood full of social rejection and isolation like mine, Julia’s life modeled a better world, until very recently. All contents © 2021 The Slate Group LLC. I love the fact that the character they chose is a girl, for example, because there are virtually no examples of women with autism in popular culture. We encountered an issue signing you up. “Autism Speaks is dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a possible cure for autism,” the guide announces on its first page. The Sesame Workshop’s goal was to provide a platform of acceptance. She’s since appeared on three seasons of the show. Watch the Video. Why the Team Behind Sesame Street Created a Character With Autism The bravest new face on television is a Muppet that doesn’t say much. She has fun with her good friends Elmo and Abby Cadabby, two of the most popular characters on Sesame Street. She is different in some ways; she has her difficulty tolerating loud noises, for example. Then you get a link recommending the Autism Speaks 100 Day Kit for Young Children. Get the latest news, updates, giveaways and more - sent right to your inbox. By Elizabeth Nelson. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that the first time I heard “The Amazing Song,” the show’s anthem about autism, I cried. Cure research has become increasingly unpopular as neurodiversity, the branch of the disability rights movement pioneered by autistic self-advocates, has become mainstream. Sesame Street on Wednesday introduced its first autistic character, Julia. Autism Speaks is behind the 100 Day Kit for Young Children, which describes itself as “a tool designed to help assist families of children recently diagnosed with autism during the critical period following an autism diagnosis.” Autism can require a high degree of specialized support, and many parents don’t adequately learn about their child’s disabilities. Julia has autism…and she and Elmo share an amazing friendship. If you value our work, please disable your ad blocker. At first only in an online picture book, and later the show itself, the character, an autistic 4-year-old girl, was shaped by a diverse group of autism advocates and researchers. Bernie’s Mittens! Please try again. Until this summer, the content Sesame Street produced showed parents that … An exciting new character is set to join the world of "Sesame Street." Slate’s sharpest takes, curated and distilled by Slate’s copy desk, delivered to your inbox every day. Elsewhere, the guide suggests a restrictive gluten-free, dairy-free diet for autistic children, which has no scientific support. Recently, Julia appeared in a series of Public Service Announcements (“PSAs”) produced with the Ad Council and Autism Speaks. Sesame Street is hoping to help destigmatize autism by introducing its first autistic muppet, Julia. Marybeth Nelson Her introduction came with the announcement of " Sesame Street … by Zinnia Ramirez August 13, 2019. written by Zinnia Ramirez August 13, 2019. Sesame Street has become the latest television show to introduce a character with autism. The popular children’s show introduces Julia, an autistic character, in a digital storybook. "So she does things a little differently. Autistic “Sesame Street” Character Julia Shows Kids How to Hug Someone Who Dislikes Being Touched. We are running it again now, with updates throughout, as Julia will make her debut on Sesame Street in April.. The PSAs highlight how Julia’s friends and family have helped her learn to adapt and enjoy her life, driven by their awareness of her developmental disorder. Sesame Street welcomes first autistic charact... 01:41 The folks who have been bringing us "Sesame Street" for 46 years say their mission is to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder. For several years, ASAN consulted with Sesame Street on their See Amazing project and the development of their autistic character, Julia. 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