by Michelle Stein posted in Parenting

Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, and the rest of the Sesame Street gang are about to welcome a new friend to their neighborhood. That's because the show will be introducing its first character with autism -- a 4-year-old, green-eyed redhead named Julia.
Back in October 2015, Julia was announced as a character in digital and print books as a part of the Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children campaign. Now she will be joining the beloved children's TV show April 10.
Julia loves drawing and butterflies. As with many children who are on the autism spectrum, Julia is particularly sensitive to noise. Loud sounds, for example, tend to overwhelm her and trigger arm flapping. Another detail that makes Julia a little different from her friends is she doesn't always respond when she's being spoken to. Here's one more cool fact about Julia: The puppeteer who controls and voices Julia is the mother of a son with autism.
"It means that our kids are important enough to be seen in society," she told 60 Minutes. "Had my son's friends been exposed to his behaviors through something that they had seen on TV before they experienced them in the classroom, they might not have been frightened. They might not have been worried when he cried. They would have known that he plays in a different way and that that's OK."
Julia's addition has been years in the making. Autism organizations, families, and educators were consulted...