Answer Summary

Members warmly embraced Julia, the new Sesame Street muppet character with autism, as an important step toward educating children and adults... Read more

Members warmly embraced Julia, the new Sesame Street muppet character with autism, as an important step toward educating children and adults about the condition. Several members shared personal connections, including one whose autistic son smiled while watching Julia's debut and another whose son excitedly told them about seeing her on The View, while others appreciated how the character felt surprisingly plausible and touching rather than stereotypical. A recurring theme was hope that Julia would be treated as just one of the kids rather than only an autism feature, and that her introduction might inspire other networks to include characters and actors on the spectrum in mainstream programming.