Question

For more than 45 years, Sesame Street has been a children's television staple in the U.S. and around the globe. It has been translated and adapted for audiences in more than 25 countries, including Brazil, Canada, China, India, Spain, and Turkey. In the U.S., the educational series has introduced viewers to a surprisingly tall yellow canary named Big Bird; a bright blue, cookie-chomping creature named Cookie Monster; and a green, garbage can-dwelling grouch named Oscar. Many of the colorful "Muppets" on Sesame Street don't resemble humans. However, one of the show's newest characters is someone with whom many young viewers may be able to relate. Her name is Julia. She's a young girl with a real-life disorder that affects 1 in 68 children in the U.S. alone.

In 2017, Julia made her debut as the first Muppet on the U.S. version of Sesame Street who has been diagnosed with autism. Autism is a developmental disorder. It has been described by the group Autism Speaks as "a range of conditions [involving] challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication." Children with autism often have unique strengths and differences. Because of these differences, children with autism may display atypical behaviors when they are in social situations. For example, they may not engage right away when someone starts a conversation. They may become overwhelmed by loud noises, and they may need to take breaks when they need to calm down.

Viewers first noticed these traits in Julia when her character was introduced on the Sesame Street show that aired in the U.S. on April 10, 2017. In the opening scene, Julia is having fun with her buddies Abby and Elmo. Then, Big Bird walks up. He wants to be Julia's friend. But when she doesn't speak to him, he thinks she doesn't like him.

"She does things just a little differently, in a Julia sort of way," Abby informs Big Bird.

Julia, chuckling, then displays a different—yet fun—way of playing tag. Everyone joins in. But when a siren wails, Julia covers her ears and looks troubled.

"She needs to take a break," Big Bird's human friend Alan calmly explains. Soon all is well, and the game starts again.

Years of research went into creating Julia so that she would be a good representation of a child dealing with the challenges of autism. The character was developed as part of a larger autism awareness effort by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces Sesame Street. The campaign, called "Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children," required consultation with organizations, experts, and families within the autism community.

Julia is at the heart of this campaign. Before she was brought to life on Sesame Street, she was introduced in print and digital illustrations. She was also the subject of a storybook, videos, e-books, an app, and a website. But while Julia was the Muppet that was meant to represent all children with autism, she wasn't meant to be like each one of them.

"Just as we look at all children as being unique, we should do the same thing when we're looking at children with autism," said Jeanette Betancourt. She's a senior vice president at Sesame Workshop.

With all eyes on Julia, the campaign aimed to bring positive attention to all children with autism.

"We wanted to promote a better understanding [of children with autism]," Betancourt said. She added that one goal is to put the focus on the strengths these children have.

One of Julia's strengths is put on display in another Sesame Street scene. Julia is about to play a game with her pals Oscar, Abby, and Grover. The friends have been challenged to spot objects shaped like squares, circles, or triangles.

"You're lucky," Abby says to Grover. "You have Julia on your team, and she is really good at finding shapes!" Then joining her friends, Julia takes off hunting. She is, after all, just one of the gang.

The author probably wrote this Article in order to __________.

Inform the reader of a new character on Sesame Street and the reasons for her introduction
Convince the reader to watch the popular children's TV show Sesame Street
Persuade the reader to give money to the nonprofit organization Sesame Workshop
Help the reader understand what goes into creating most characters for children's TV shows

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

Inform the reader of a new character on Sesame Street and the reasons for her introduction

Answer 2

Which statement from the Article best supports the idea that leaders at Sesame Workshop are trying to bring positive attention to children with autism?

Many of the colorful "Muppets" on Sesame Street don't resemble humans.
It has been described by the group Autism Speaks as "a range of conditions [involving] challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication."
Because of these differences, children with autism may display atypical behaviors when they are in social situations.
"We wanted to promote a better understanding [of children with autism]," Betancourt said.

Answer 3

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

"We wanted to promote a better understanding [of children with autism]," Betancourt said.