A Muppet with autism! Her name is Julia, and she’s just now joining the cast of digital Sesame Street. As described by the Sesame Workshop’s Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, in an interview with ABC News, Julia is a character with a “moderate” degree of autism – a choice that took some thinking through, since there are so many ways that autism manifests itself in those who have the diagnosis. But in what is known as the “autism community” – those on the “spectrum,” plus their families, their friends, and their support teams of teachers, therapists and doctors – the specifics of Julia’s personality are beside the point. Judging by the emails hitting our inboxes this morning, and the tweets coming in – from friends and contacts all over the community – Julia’s arrival is being received as a very big deal, and perhaps even a little overdue. A Muppet with autism! Of course! And why not before?