Sesame Street Introduces Julia
The award-winning and much loved children’s television programme “Sesame Street” is introducing a muppet on the autism spectrum. Julia, a little girl with bright orange hair, a toy rabbit and autism will make her television debut later this spring on US channels PBS and HBO. The character has already featured in a number of spin-offs from the television series, which has been circulated world-wide since it first aired in 1969. Everything Dinosaur team members work with many children on the autism spectrum. Children on this spectrum can obsess about dinosaurs.
Explaining About the Autistic Spectrum
Helping people to understand autism and the autistic spectrum is hard enough when it comes to explaining to adults and explaining the condition to young viewers is going to be particularly challenging, but we at Everything Dinosaur praise the production company behind “Sesame Street” for introducing this new character.
In Julia’s debut episode, the colourful and cheerful muppet will demonstrate some common characteristics associated with children on the autistic spectrum. For example, when Big Bird is introduced to her, she ignores him.
Confused, Big Bird thinks “that maybe she didn’t like me”. The other muppets reassure him by explaining that “she does things just a little differently”.
It is about recognising and accepting differences.
The Autism Spectrum and Dinosaurs
Autism and Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs and autism. Lots of evidence of vocabulary development and independent learning.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Sesame Street’s Connection with Diplodocus
A little-known fact is that the “Sesame Street” programme concept came about during discussions between producer Joan Ganz Cooney and the then Vice President of the Carnegie Foundation Lloyd Morrisett. The Carnegie Foundation was created by Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish industrialist and philanthropist, after whom the Diplodocus species Diplodocus carnegii was named.
The Connection between Sesame Street and Diplodocus
The Eofauna Diplodocus carnegii model measures around 60 cm in length and stands 11 cm tall. It is a 1/40th scale model.
The picture (above) shows a Diplodocus from the Eofauna series of models and figures.
To view this range: Eofauna Scientific Research Models.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“We welcome this innovation and we hope that the producers will make resources to help teachers explain autism to children available as downloads on the Sesame Street website.”
Visit the award-winning and user friendly Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.