Julia, a 4-year-old female muppet, first appeared online and in printed materials. Next month, she'll make her TV debut.
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"Sesame Street" senior writer Christine Ferraro told "60 Minutes" that the character was complex because "autism is not one thing, because it is different for every single person who has autism."
She added, "When [children] encounter [someone autistic] in their real life it's familiar. And they see that these--these can be their friends too."
The show worked with several autism organizations to depict Julia in normal situations that children could easily understand. Stacey Gordon, the mother of a son with autism, will be the puppeteer for Julia.
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The show posted videos to the HBO site and YouTube introducing the puppet to her TV cast.