Story highlights
- Julia's story was told in a "60 Minutes" episode
- She will debut on the TV series in April
(CNN)The newest resident of "Sesame Street" has orange hair and a fondness for her toy rabbit.
She also has autism.
Julia has been a part of the "Sesame Street" family via its storybooks and was so popular that the decision was made to add the character to the TV series.
On Sunday viewers got to meet her during a "60 Minutes" segment.
"I think the big discussion right at the start was, 'How do we do this? How do we talk about autism?,'" one of the show's writers, Christine Ferraro, told "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl.
Over the almost five decades "Sesame Street" has been on the air, it has established a reputation for inclusion with its characters.
Joan Ganz Cooney , one of the founders of the Children's Television Workshop which developed "Sesame Street," said it has also not been afraid to deal with real life issues including the death of a beloved character, Mr. Hooper in 1983.
Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Julia, a new autistic muppet character, will join the cast of "Sesame Street" in April. The character was first introduced during the new Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Sesame Street's original star Big Bird has led the show since its first episode in 1969. The 8-foot Muppet often doesn't understand what's going on but sets the tone for the show by never hesitating to find out.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
"Sesame Street's" Muppet characters were originally intended to be support for the human cast, but test audiences responded so warmly to Bert and Ernie's sketches that the producers put Muppets in starring roles. The comic duo have been two of the show's most popular characters ever since.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Sonia Manzano played shop owner Maria for nearly 45 years before retiring in July. She also worked as a writer for the show.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Alan Muraoka is the owner of Hooper's Store. He also works as a performer on Broadway.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Alison Bartlett O'Reilly took the role of Gina, an assistant at Hooper's Store and babysitter for Elmo and Zoe. She joined the ensemble in 1987.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Bob McGrath was one of the first four human cast members on Sesame Street. He is known for his music and singalongs, although Bob can also tell a good story or two.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Christopher Knowings helps out at Hooper's Store. He was cast in 2006.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Emilio Delgado, who plays Luis, was the first human cast member. When something needs to be fixed, he is the man to call.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Ismael Cruz Cordova is a new addition as Armando. He's best known for his role in the CBS drama "The Good Wife."
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Loretta Long has played Susan since the show's beginning. When Big Bird needed comforting, Susan was there to help, and she is known for her maternal instincts.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Nitya Vidyasagar joined "Sesame Street" as Leela. The recent addition has a background in theater performance.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Roscoe Orman has played Gordon, husband to Susan, since Sesame Street began. Orman's real-life son Miles joined the cast in season 17 as Gordon's son, solidifying Orman's role as a kind and caring father.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
The Muppet Show made him a star, but Kermit the Frog had begun winning younger fans on "Sesame Street," explaining to kids that "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" for the first time in 1970.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Fifteen years passed between the premiere of "Sesame Street" and Elmo getting his big break in 1984. But since then, the furry red monster with the high-pitched voice has gone on to become arguably the show's most popular Muppet.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
"Om nom nom nom" -- Cookie Monster's voracious appetite for his favorite chocolate chip treats have endeared him to viewers since "Sesame Street's" first season. He's even managed to fit in teaching some important lessons: Thanks to him, generations of kids have grown up knowing that "C" is for cookie.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
A bad-tempered green monster who loves "anything dirty or dingy or dusty" and lives in a trash can: perhaps not an obvious choice for a children's TV hero. Yet Oscar the Grouch, whose ambition is to be as miserable as possible, has failed to ruin viewers moods, bringing humor and fun to the Street.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Zoe broke into "Sesame Street's" largely male Muppet cast in 1994, becoming the show's stand-out female character. As she appears to be about the same age as Elmo, the two often spend time together. They are understood to be best friends.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Nothing can interrupt the Count when he's counting. Whether counting from one to 10 or up to a billion (as he did in 2013 to celebrate "Sesame Street's" 1 billion YouTube views), the Count is happiest with numbers. He can now count over 40 years of appearances on "Sesame Street" since his debut in 1972.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
Is Grover the coolest Muppet on "Sesame Street"? He certainly thinks he is and describes himself as a "cute, furry little monster." Grover is one of the favorite creations of "Sesame Street" puppeteer Frank Oz, who said his generous personality and distinctive way of pronouncing each word "came about organically" when he brought the Muppet to the Street in 1970.
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Photos: The stars of Sesame Street
For many years, the adults on "Sesame Street" didn't believe that Mr. Snuffleupagus was real. The gigantic Muppet had an uncanny way of disappearing just before adult characters arrived, and many assumed he was Big Bird's imaginary friend. The very real Muppet is one of the Street's most cultured residents, revealing a love of ballet, opera and art since his first appearance in 1971.
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"Sesame Street had always dealt with the real," she said. " And it was real, and so we decided not to just replace him and call the man Mr. Hooper and hope they didn't notice."
Julia's debut episode will deal with what autism can look like. The brain disorder can make it difficult for people with autism to communicate with and relate to others.
The character of Big Bird talked to Stahl about his first interaction with Julia in which she ignored him.
"I thought that maybe she didn't like me," he said.
"Yeah, but you know, we had to explain to Big Bird that Julia likes Big Bird," the Elmo character added. " It's just that Julia has autism. So sometimes it takes her a little longer to do things."
Ferraro hopes that along with educating viewers about autism the new character will settle in as a part of the neighborhood.
"I would love her to be not Julia, the kid on Sesame Street who has autism," the writer said. "I would like her to be just Julia."
