In 2017, Big Bird met a new neighbor on Sesame Street. Julia, a four-year-old with autism spectrum disorder, didn’t look up from her paint project when Big Bird introduced himself. She also didn’t respond when he complimented her painting, and she left him hanging when he asked for a high five.
Alan, the grown-up, explained to Big Bird that Julia had autism, which meant she might not answer him right away or do things the way he might expect. Muppets Elmo and Abby assured Big Bird that Julia was fun and liked playing with her friends. The scene ended with the group singing a song about acceptance called “We Can All Be Friends.”
Advocates praised Sesame Street for promoting autism awareness. In fact, parents of non-autistic children under the age of six showed significant increases in knowledge and acceptance of the condition after viewing the segment, according to a 2020 study from the journal Autism.
