Sesame Street's Julia Attended The Macy's Parade Prepared for Sensory Overload
“Sesame Street’s” float for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade caught the attention of people on the autism spectrum and their families. Julia, Sesame’s Street first autistic character, participated in the float, and she wore noise-canceling headphones.
Noise-canceling or noise-muffling headphones help people on the autism spectrum handle sensory overload. As “Sesame Street” explained, “With the help of her friend Rosita and the comfort of her noise-canceling headphones, Julia is ready for a fun and festive day in NYC!”
We are thrilled to have our friend Julia join us at the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year! With the help of her friend Rosita and the comfort of her noise-canceling headphones, Julia is ready for a fun and festive day in NYC! #MacysParade #HappyThanksgiving2018 pic.twitter.com/uPR5L98urc
— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) November 22, 2018
Representation matters. People in the autism community shared how happy they were to see Julia’s character wearing noise-canceling headphones and what that representation meant to them.
“My autistic daughter saw Julia on the Sesame Street float and said, ‘There’s Julia wearing her headphones because she’s autistic,’” one Twitter user shared. “Seeing others like her represented in society is so important for my girl, it makes her feel included and loved.”
My autistic daughter saw Julia on the Sesame Street float and said, "There's Julia wearing her headphones because she's autistic". Seeing others like her represented in society is so important for my girl, it makes her feel included and loved. Thanks. #sesamestreet #autism
— Kerri Miller-Luzier (@kmluzier) November 22, 2018
Guys. Guys. Julia is on the @sesamestreet float in the #MacysDayParade. And she’s wearing ear blockers like I do at parades. Like thousands of #ActuallyAutistic kids and adults. Millions of people are watching. This is everything. https://t.co/dXNUVnpbGa
— Sara Luterman (@slooterman) November 22, 2018
I ♥️♥️♥️ that the Julia puppet from sesame Street is wearing noise reduction headphones.
— Elizabeth Picciuto (@epicciuto) November 22, 2018
#MacysParade. The only inclusion that matters. #Julia #sesamestreet #AutismAwareness pic.twitter.com/5USnC0PF6M
— Sassy_G78 (@GinaMalia424) November 22, 2018
SESAME STREET AT IT AGAIN MAKING ME CRY Julia (who has Autism) is in the parade and wearing noise canceling headphones pic.twitter.com/yFc5WdVaqn
— Boy George Soros (@ohai_leslie) November 22, 2018
I love that Julia noise-canceling headphones on for the parade. Great touch, Sesame. pic.twitter.com/1PiRccnz1b
— ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏɴʏ™ (@TweetsByTheTony) November 22, 2018
I love the painstaking work that Sesame Workshop puts into making sure every kid knows they're welcome on #SesameStreet. https://t.co/CGFlm5QyuA
— Caleb Roast-dus-a-Turkey (@CalebRhodus) November 22, 2018
The fact that Julia from @sesamestreet wore those noise-cancelling headphones just really warmed my heart. That's why Sesame Street is the greatest children's television show of all time. #MacysParade #SesameStreet
— Matt Bingel (@mmbingel1) November 22, 2018
So Julia from #sesamestreet is wearing Noise canceling headphones on the #MacysDayParade and I think that is so important!
— Rebecca (@rherm93) November 22, 2018
In 2015, Sesame Workshop launched Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children, an online initiative introducing Julia as a digital character in a storybook called “We’re Amazing, 1,2,3.” Sesame Workshop spent five years consulting with 250 organizations and experts within the autism community.
“For years, families of children with autism have asked us to address the issue. We heard a call to use our expertise and characters to build a bridge between the autism and neurotypical communities,” Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, SVP of U.S. Social Impact, Sesame Workshop said in a press release.
Julia made her on-air debut in April 2017 and has since been a regular character on the show.
Banner image via twitter
Ellen Stumbo is the founder of Disability Matters, an organization with the mission to encourage every church to embrace disability. Ellen is a national speaker who focuses on issues pertaining adoption, faith, disability and parenting kids with disabilities. Ellen writes for several online platforms including Focus on the Family, LifeWay, MomSense, Not Alone, Mamapedia, Group, The Mighty and the Huffington Post. Her writing also appears in several book anthologies. Ellen blogs at ellenstumbo.com and you can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.
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