Growing up, I remember one boy who, throughout elementary school, was "different." He didn't talk as fast as I did, his eyes didn’t move the same way as mine, and he had his own teacher. I never spoke to him, and it didn't seem like a big deal to me because no one did. No one asked him to hang out at recess, and I can't recall a time he laughed alongside us at lunch. It was always just him and his aide.
When someone reached out to him, it was commended. The teachers said, "how nice!" and moved on. A gold star on the board.
But why was he so isolated? I never gave much thought before. I was young, I didn't know any better. It was the norm.
But now, hopefully, this norm will be no longer for the next generation. With the rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) — 1 in every 68 children — we can no longer wrongly shun those who, to no fault of their own, may see the world differently.
“Sesame Street” announced their newest character, Julia, this past Wednesday. Julia shares the same wide-eyed, sing-song, colorful characteristics of all our childhood Sesame friends, with one difference — she’s autistic.
Julia is a product of the “Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children” initiative, a focus of the larger Sesame Workshop which promotes children to grow stronger, smarter, and kinder.
“Children with autism are five times more likely to be bullied than their peers – treatment no child should endure,” the initiative stated. The first step to combatting this ill-treatment is teaching children that yes, there are differences amongst some of us, but it does not mean we have to ostracize others as a result.
Inclusion programs, educating children with learning disabilities along with the mainstream population, are starting to gain more praise and recognition. “Benefits for children with and without disabilities are abundant,” Alyssa Barnes, Ph.D. said in her study “Effective Inclusion Practices.” Children with disabilities are found to exhibit less inappropriate behavior, have improved cognitive, language, and motor development, as well as play skills. Typically developing children demonstrate advanced social skills, fewer stereotypes, and increased awareness of the needs of others.
I see these benefits happening within my average developing six-year-old sister, Abigail. Kayla, my other sister who’s in high school, has been bringing Abigail along with her to Rolling Thunder, a running program for children with learning disabilities. What Kayla has noticed since bringing Abigail, is the other children in the program's increased performances, sociability, and listening. While my own sister's benefits may not be so obvious to her yet, I can assure she'll grow up with a newfound respect and acceptance for others. Kayla told Abigail that her new friends learned and acted differently than she did, right off the bat, but being that she is so young this did not deter her like it did my classmates and me. She is having fun and making friends like all children should.
Julia’s incorporation on the cast of arguably the most popular children’s television program will start a foundation for such inclusion nation-wide. This will be especially important for children who may not experience inclusion in their own schools or homes.
However, the key to inclusion isn’t simply creating an autistic “Sesame Street” character; it’s making sure such a character has presence and purpose within daily TV programming. And for that, Julia will have to wait.
“We want to hear back from the autism community about what other resources would be helpful, whether we should animate her further or offer video content,” said Jeanette Betancourt, vice president of outreach and educational practices within Sesame Workshop. While I applaud Betancourt and her colleagues for their years of research to create a well-represented face of autism, I cannot yet praise this initiative until those who do not have the disability see Julia. Right now, content including Julia remains confined to the initiative’s website, and I find it highly unlikely that an average three-year-old will stumble upon the site.
It is crucial that “Sesame” takes this idea and runs with it (after hearing back from the ASD community, of course). It can be all too easy for Julia to become another gold star on the board.
