Sesame Street is getting an autistic character!

Page 1 of 1 [ 13 posts ] 

Elensar
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Nov 2012
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 54
Location: Utah

EzraS
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,828
Location: Twin Peaks

21 Oct 2015, 10:45 pm

Was going to post that myself. Will be interesting to see how they do this. Am sure there are concerns over stereotyping and stuff like that.



0regonGuy
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 2015
Posts: 658
Location: Oregon Coast

22 Oct 2015, 12:09 am

At first I thought they had the right people advising them when I saw this page. But then I noticed that Autism Speaks is on the list. :-x I wonder who is REALLY advising them. :|

Sesame Street and Autism - Autism Home / Advisors


_________________
Autism Social Forum
A place for autistic people to discuss their interests.


Elensar
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Nov 2012
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 54
Location: Utah

22 Oct 2015, 1:14 am

They better not screw it up. This is a big opportunity to educate the public.



Kraichgauer
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 47,739
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.

22 Oct 2015, 1:33 am

If an autistic character is shown in a positive light for kids, then I think it's a good idea.


_________________
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer


Dillogic
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Nov 2011
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,339

22 Oct 2015, 6:00 am

And Cookie Monster isn't autistic?

Should have just said he was, and people didn't realize it; there's a good moral there, and you don't have to point "autism" out as a character's original appeal.

The narrow interest and lack of pronouns/poor speech point to it.



BuyerBeware
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Sep 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,476
Location: PA, USA

22 Oct 2015, 7:45 am

OK, so I watched it.

I got no complaints. I've seen much, much worse characterizations. It's not sappy, or preachy, or obviously forced. I'm happy with that.

I got just two questions:

1) What kind of parent lets an approximately 5-year-old moderately autistic kid wander around a major metropolitan area without adult supervision?? I'm pretty into free range parenting, and I wouldn't turn my NT six-year-old loose on the streets of Pittsburgh.

2) When are they going to start selling T-shirts with Julia flapping around with the feather screened on them?? Because I want one.


_________________
"Alas, our dried voices when we whisper together are quiet and meaningless, as wind in dry grass, or rats' feet over broken glass in our dry cellar." --TS Eliot, "The Hollow Men"


Earthling
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Aug 2015
Posts: 3,450

22 Oct 2015, 8:01 am

@0regonGuy Meh, Autism Speaks is just one advisor. :)

Sesame Street hoping to help destigmatize autism
Sounds good to me.



lostonearth35
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,783
Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?

22 Oct 2015, 2:29 pm

I just sent an E-Mail to Sesame Workshop telling them how disappointed I am that Autism Speaks is one of their advisors. They have other advisors as well, they may be bad or even worse than A$, but I'm not going to bother looking them up.

At least the Muppet is a girl. :)



iliketrees
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Mar 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,155
Location: Earth

23 Oct 2015, 2:44 am

BuyerBeware wrote:
OK, so I watched it.

I got no complaints. I've seen much, much worse characterizations. It's not sappy, or preachy, or obviously forced. I'm happy with that.

I got just two questions:

1) What kind of parent lets an approximately 5-year-old moderately autistic kid wander around a major metropolitan area without adult supervision?? I'm pretty into free range parenting, and I wouldn't turn my NT six-year-old loose on the streets of Pittsburgh.

2) When are they going to start selling T-shirts with Julia flapping around with the feather screened on them?? Because I want one.

Link to where you have seen it from?



0regonGuy
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 2015
Posts: 658
Location: Oregon Coast

23 Oct 2015, 3:33 am

lostonearth35 wrote:
I just sent an E-Mail to Sesame Workshop telling them how disappointed I am that Autism Speaks is one of their advisors. They have other advisors as well, they may be bad or even worse than A$, but I'm not going to bother looking them up.

At least the Muppet is a girl. :)


The e-mail was a good idea. Unfortunately Autism $peaks gets to be an advisor on everything, because of their money. I just found it to be very interesting how ASAN is on the list with a giant logo, and right below them a very low key listing for A$ with no logo. I missed A$ completely the first time I looked at the list. Somebody knew what they were doing. I'm sure it was no accident that A$'s logo was left out.


_________________
Autism Social Forum
A place for autistic people to discuss their interests.


iliketrees
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Mar 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,155
Location: Earth

23 Oct 2015, 5:42 am

Oh, found it.

http://autism.sesamestreet.org/ is the whole website and the one with the character is here:

http://autism.sesamestreet.org/storyboo ... e-amazing/



Touretter
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 405

24 Oct 2015, 2:07 pm

There might be some things that we might find to be disagreeable though http://eisforerin.com/2015/10/23/not-in-love-with-julia/.