Sesame Street has once again proven why it's still running at over 4000 episodes. On March 19th, the world was formally introduced to Julia, the first muppet with Autism Spectrum Disorder, also known as autism or ASD. Though Julia was originally introduced as a two-dimensional character in a Sesame Street digital storybook about autism, her immediate popularity gave her life as a three-dimensional muppet.

Julia's presentation has already been lauded by many parents of children with autism, mainly because they've seen in Julia just how much effort Sesame Street has put into everything about Julia. The details in her appearance has been particularly noteworthy; they made sure to give her clothing and a hairstyle that a sensory-sensitive child with autism would be able to don. She even has special changeable hands that let her sometimes flap her hands in a stimulatory fashion, just like many children with autism do. She also has special changeable eyes that can close if she's dealing with sensory overload.

In addition, Julia's voice and puppeteer is even someone whose life has been touched by autism. The puppeteer, Stacy Gordon, has a son with autism. In an interview with CBS, Gordon said that, “As the parent of a child with autism, I wished that it had come out years before, when my own child was at the “Sesame Street” age."

But with all the good that this new Sesame Street character can and will bring, there are issues in politics that may prevent programs like Sesame Street from running as usual. Donald Trump's proposed budget has big cuts in store for Public Broadcasting and other arts programs.

Not only will this be detrimental in terms of the importance of the arts, but with Sesame Street the children of America are at stake, too. Think of all that Sesame Street and other children's programs from PBS have done for kids--including you, and if you have them, your kids. Think of all that won't be possible with funding snatched from their fingertips. Think of how if there had been budget cuts in effect before Julia was created, she might not have been possible.

Then think about how many kids will now be able to look on the screen and say, "Hey, I'm just like Julia, and that's okay!" Representation matters. Accurate and positive representation matters. And with Julia, Sesame Street has far exceeded my own expectations and the expectations of parents, with or without children with autism.