Photo: Sesame Workshop
Julia is a four-year-old with bright orange hair, big blue eyes and a sweet singing voice. She?s also the first Muppet with autism on Sesame Street?s iconic block. Relatable to kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Julia and her storyline will also help children not directly touched by autism understand how to form a real friendship with someone who?s a little different.

The message of the Monday April 10 debut episode, ?Meet Julia,? is twofold: It?s intended to help viewers better understand autism, a developmental disorder that currently affects 1 in 68 children. And it also acknowledges that doing so isn?t always going to be easy. Even Muppets, famous for their friendliness, will face unique challenges in making friends with a kid like Julia?a kid, for that matter, like mine. From kindergarten to grade six, my son, Jonah, who?s on the autism spectrum, attended school with kids who were not. I spent much of that seven-year stretch expecting him to be bullied or ostracized or both. Only he never was. In fact, when he graduated from elementary school he received an award for ?Kindness to Others.? This was, I like to think, a testament to his particular brand of charm but also to the kindness he was, in turn, so often shown by others.
That said kindness doesn?t always equal understanding. During his first seven years in school, Jonah?s challenges making friends with his neurotypical classmates grew. This was especially diffi...