Sesame Street just recently unveiled a new character to be on their show named Julia. Julia is a cute little puppet who has autism. I think this is so incredibly cool! Autism is not common among characters in children's TV shows, so this new puppet is really a trailblazer! I think this is so incredibly cool and so desperately needed by children and adults alike!

1 in 68 American children are diagnosed with some form of autism. That is a shocking statistic! With a diagnosis this common, you would think that autism would be something most everyone was familiar with. However, I don't think this is the case. I think there is still apprehension towards people with autism. More education on autism would really help ease these feelings. I am so happy that Sesame Street is working to provide this!

Children are incredibly impressionable. What you tell them, they will believe. If they're watching a show that promotes the idea of kids with autism being just like them, they're going to be very likely to believe and apply it to their lives. If they see the other puppets playing and talking with Julia, they will be more comfortable playing and talking with fellow peers that have autism. They won't be as caught-off-guard when they encounter differences in their peers. Maybe us adults can stand to less caught-off-guard, too?

In a way I believe Sesame Street is trying to challenge the word "normal." I think the knee-jerk reaction after seeing someone who behaves or thinks differently than us is to say that they aren't "normal." What we're really saying, though, is that person is not like us. (Adults are just as much to blame as kids for doing this and actually have less of an excuse for doing so!) But we aren't like the person in the next grocery store aisle. We aren't like our neighbor. We aren't even quite like our identical twin. We are all different, so who in the world came up with the standard of "normal?" I think the answer is in that question: someone in the world came up with it. Someone, or some culture, that can't see the whole picture came up with how people should act and should feel. But as humans our view of humanity is so limited. We don't have that "bird's-eye view" that God does. He is the one who made us, differences and all. So are we trying to hold God to a standard?

I am so excited to meet Julia. And I unashamedly will be watching the episodes she's on! (Watch her debut on April 10!) I hope that many children - and many adults - learn more about autism. More importantly, I hope we all learn about the people behind the diagnosis. That we can give them room to be themselves and that we can have room to be ourselves. There should be no apprehension or fear when we realize that we are simply interacting with another human being, with talents and quirks that differ from our own talents and quirks. Great job Sesame Street for getting the ball rolling!