My name is jasmine. Im 7 years old. I share my bedroom with my little sister. She is 6. Our big sister alyssa is 11. She has her own room. Usenia has autism. She cant talk. We all get ready for school together. Some things are really hard for usenia, like brushing her teeth. And brushing her hair. It takes all three of us to do usenias hair. She doesnt like the way the brush feels. Alyssa and i sing and clap while mom braids. I feel happy i can help her. Usenia gets a lot of attention in the morning. But my big sister and i get time with my mom and dad, too. Dad is really good at putting on jewelry. He helps alyssa, while my mom brushes my hair. I like how she does it. Pretty. I love it. I love having usenia has my little sister. She is amazing i think youre amazing hi there im here with usenia, who is full of joy at the moment. And also jaslin and alyssa. What do you like best about your family . They all treat us the same. Like, we all are equal. Like, it doesnt matter if usenia has autism. My parents arent just going to focus on here and leave me and jasmine out. Hi hey, lets have a group hug. Lets all hug. Im in the middle of love. Im in the middle of love ah, this is the best. Well, welcome, everybody, to this standing room only crowd. I see some Friendly Faces in the back standing. Im jeff dunn. If i havent med you, im the president and ceo of sesame street workshop and im delighted to be here with all of you. Sesame street and autism see automatic children. I wanted to open by spending a few moments with you, talking about why this event is so important and why autism is so important to Sesame Workshop. And perhaps the best way to do that is to quote. Quotes are always great. And this one is from the famous american poet, maya angelou. This goes to the heart of who we are and the work that we do. And she said, its time to teach young people that in diversity, there is beauty and there is strength. In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength. And thats really been what Sesame Workshop has been about from the very beginning. Since we first started, we have promoted this expansive attitude, and we have created one of the first truly racially diverse neighborhoods on television, and one that featured muppets, as well as humans, of varying abilities. And just as importantly, varying disabilities. Our focus has really always been to help kids everywhere grow smarter and stronger and kinder. And, of course, that is what this initiative is all about. All three of those things. Let me just make one other observation, since were here in this wonderful space in the capitol. Kids our kids, our audience, theyre little people. Theyre three feet tall. They are nonpartisan. They are too innocent to have biases. Theyre too innocent to judge. And so it means something to all of us at sesame to be here today with all of you. You know, who who represent, you know, politics, as well. To have you, regardless of that, to be here from both sides of the aisle. And be here for kids. And thats an amazing thing. So we appreciate that. We welcome you. We hope you learn something from today. And we hope this is a memorable event in the beginning of a Great National conversation. So with that, let me turn it over to sherry westin, our executive Vice President for social impact and philanthropy. And she is the with unwho leads this tremendous group of people that have worked on this so hard. Both on this initiative and this event. And it wouldnt be possible, neither would be possible, without her. So come on up, sherry. And she will be your host of the day. So come on up. Thank you. Thank you, jeff. Thank you, jeff. And most of all, thank you for your support. He has been the biggest champion of this work. And were so grateful. But on behalf of all of my colleagues at the workshop, thank all of you for being here. To take the time to join us, really means so much. The video you just saw is from sesame streets initiative, amazing in all children. And you may know that sesame street has a long history of looking at issues through the lens of a child. And given that 1 in 68 children in the u. S. Today are diagnosed on the autism spectrum, we knew that this was an issue we needed to address. So we launched our initiative in the fall of 2015. And we had two very specific objectives in mind. One, to create tools and resources for families with children with autism to make everyday moments easier. But second, we wanted to reach the public at large to help destigmatize autism. To help increase understanding, awareness and promote inclusion. And acceptance. So this is where julia plays a critical role. So hopefully by now you have heard that julia is an adorable little 4yearold girl. Shes very curious. And she has autism. She was first created online as a digital muppet, and as part of a wonderful story book that was called see amazing 1, 2, 3 and written by leslie kimmelman, who is here today. My response to this initiative and to julia herself from the Autism Community was simply amazing. And we decided that we needed to bring julia to life on sesame street. So im thrilled to say that the episode, meet julia will appear on sesame street on monday on pbs and on youtube. So we hope you tune in. But if you can just think for a moment that through julia, we hope the children with autism will have a character they can identify with, hopefully feel less alone. But byalone, but by introducing julia to her friends on the set, on sesame street we are able to raise awareness, to raise and increase understanding and to model inclusion. So when big bird tries to meet julia and shes a little less responsive, abby is able to explain that just because julia may not show it in the same ways, she still wants to be your friend, she still wants to play, she still wants to be included just like all children. And i must say on a personal note that the feedback from the Autism Community is really what makes this work so very rewarding. One of my very favorite stories came from a mother who had a young daughter with autism and she used that wonderful book see amazing to help explain to her daughter that, like julia, she, too, had autism. And she responded so im amazing, too, right . So i think that we from all of these wonderful stories, theres so many of them, we know anecdotally were making a difference but im so pleased today because today we have research to support that. We are grateful to have the opportunity to share the this with you, to bring together a panel of distinguished experts that well get to in a little later including the researchers who looked at the impact of this work. So we hope that will be a very important discussion around an issue that really does touch so many of us. But we are especially honored today to have a congressman mike doyle with us from the great state of pennsylvania. And congressman doyle is serving his 12th term in congress. He serves on the house energy and Commerce Committee and is the ranking democratic member on the communications and Technology Subcommittee but i think perhaps most important to those in this room is it was congressman doyle along with congressman smith from new jersey who founded the coalition for Autism Research and education, otherwise known as c. A. R. E and its the first dedicated to autism advocacy on capitol hill. This was in 2001, i think. Today there are 117 members of the bipartisan autism caucus which congressman doyle along with congressman smith still cochair. So we are so grateful for your leadership on this issue and especially that you would take time to be with us today. Congressman doyle . [ applause ] good morning. This is really an exciting day and im pleased to be here. When chris smith and i got together to form the autism caucus, one of our main objectives was to educate other members of congress about Autism Spectrum Disorder. We know we need to get back to basics about what asd looks like and what we can do to reach out to our friends and neighbors who live with it everyday. Thats why its so important about julia and the initiative being taken on by Sesame Workshop and sesame street. At its heart, it is taking our shared goal of education and taking information out to the widest and most important audience out there young kids and their parents. We announced sesame street see amazing in all Children Initiative right here in october of 2015 so its very excited to get to meet julia today at her first public appearance a little more than one year later. See amazing was created to provide resources to families, teachers and caregivers around the country to educate them about autism. It also includes online guides and tools to help families touched by autism overcome common challenges like brushing teeth, crossing the street, going the supermarket. The panelists youre going to meet here today are going to be able to speak to just how effective the see Amazing Campaign has been. So im going to turn it back over to them but i wanted to say that im honored to be a part of this journey and im excited to get to know julia who can represent all of the amazing kids we know with autism. Have a great day here. [ applause ] thank you so much, congressman doyle. And now im going to turn this over so we can get started to our moderator, Holly Robinson peet. Holly is probably best known as an accomplished actress a 21 jump street and hanging with mr. Cooper. But i think perhaps her most valuable role has been that of flan tloe miss and advocate. After her father was diagnosed with parkinsons and her son was diagnosed with autism, she and her husband, the former nfl quarterback rodney peet started the Holly Rod Foundation dedicated to providing help and hope to underserved individuals and families living with parkinsons and autism. So i think you can see that hollys personal experience and the significant contribution she has made to the Autism Community make her an ideal moderator for todays event but its also worth noting that holly has a special connection to sesame street. In 1969 when sesame street first launched, her father Matt Robinson was the very first gordon and in fact i think holly even appeared on the show as a little one. So were especially pleased to have you with us today. Welcome back. [ applause ] thank you. Wow, thank you, sherrie, thank you anyone who had anything to do with bringing julia to us. This is such an amazing moment. As sherrie mentioned its a fullcircle moment for me so briefly, back in 1969 i was five years old and my dad came home, i was living in philly and he said hey, i just got this great new gig and its going to be in new york, ill commute back and forth. What is it . Its a childrens show, it takes place on your block and theres kids of all colors and i was like good luck with that, maybe it will last. [ laughter ] nearly 50 years later here i am moderating this panel. I do have a son with autism who is the love of my life. I always like to say i wouldnt change my son for the world but i would like to change the world for my son and thats something that i think anybody whos been touched by autism can relate to. A beloved muppet who is besties with elmo who has autism that is a game changer in the Autism Community. So im just so absolutely thrilled to be here and i thank everyone at Sesame Workshop and sesame street for approaching this in a way that is so authentic as an autism mom this is something that is really helpful and for those of you not touched by autism this is a wonderful way to educate you as well so sesame street has a history of featuring and celebrating children of all different abilities and now with this new see amazing in all Children Initiative they are showing just how amazing kids with autism truly are and coming to a better understanding about autism through the beloved sesame street friends makes it all the more accessible and its all part of sesame streets magic. Magic magic did somebody say magic . Oh, many i goodness its abby my favorite fairy, lets give her a round of applause. [ applause ] hi, miss holly smooches. Youre an honorary fairy miss holly. I always wanted to be a fairy. Im glad that youre here, abby. I had to be here. I just had to come because i want to introduce everybody to julia. Shes my new friend. She has autism and shes amazing. Well, ill bet she is and we cannot wait to meet her. Yeah, well i tell you, we do all kinds of stuff together. We like to play games, everybody, and we sing boy can julia sing she just loves to sing oh, wow and shes a good painter, too. Uhhuh. Ill bet, i just cant wait i heard that a lot of your friends didnt really understand julia at first. Yeah, thats true, but i tell you what it didnt take long for her to see how amazing she is. Well we have a clip of the first time that big bird met julia, should we show that abby . You have that . We have that. You have that . You know that clip and ill go get julia [ laughter ] oh, bye [ laughter ] so you are in for a great treat because well show you a little preview of julias first sesame street episode which will air on april 10 so mark your calendars. So right now, heres your sneak pee peek. Heres some more paper, guys. Thanks, alan just a little more. Thats nice. Thank you. Oh, hey, welcome to sesame street. We are having some fun with finger paints. Hi, guys. Hi, elmo, hi, abby. Hi, big bird the whos this . This is our friend julia. Oh, hi julia, im big bird, nice to meet you. Julia . Julias just concentrating on her painting right now. You guys are doing a great job. Alan, i dont think julia likes me very much. Well you two are just meeting for the first time. So shes shy . I get that, i can feel shy sometimes, too. Well, with julia its not that that, you see she has autism. She likes it when people know it. Autism . Whats autism . Well, for julia it means she might not answer you right away. Julia doesnt say a lot. Thats right. And she may not do what you would expect like give you a high five. Yeah, she does things just a little differently and a julia sort of way. Oh, okay. And shes a lot of fun yeah julia likes being with her friends and she loves to play, too. Play, play, play you want to play now, julia . Play, play, play we can all play together. Thats a great idea. Me, too, can i play . Sure, big bird. What should we play . How about tag . [ laughing ] i think thats a yes. I cant believe you found that thats so magical. Hey miss holly . Yes, miss abby . Would you like to meet julia . I found her . You did . Yes, i did i have been waiting for so long to meet her. Okay, this is happening. [ laughter ] julia julia, you can come out now here she is [ laughing ] hi, hi, julia. [ laughing ] well, you know, miss holly when she wont say hi right away or answer right away, that doesnt mean shes not happy to be here i know shes happy because she likes to jump when shes happy. Excited excited excited i told you. Well, were also so excited that youre here because weve heard so much about you, julia. Wed love to learn more about you. Tell us the things that you like to do. Um oh, well, as you can see she loves her little bunny fluffster. She likes to pet him. Fluffster. He looks so cuddly and soft. And you know what . Julia loves to be around people, miss holly, she likes to make friends. Julia, who are some of your friends . Friends . Friends. Elmo. Yup. Oh, well, hes everybodys friend. Big bird. Big bird. Youve got to love big bird. Abby aww around you know what . We like to play tickle, too, and tag and paint. Tickle . Tickle tickle tickle oh, boy, see, we have a lot in common. You do and its so great. I see you both have a lot in common yet youre both different. Yeah, but you know what, miss holly . Were all different anyway, all our friends. Like elmos a monster, big birds a bird, im a fairy, youre a pretty lady. [ laughter ] and julias a kid. So were all friends, though. Thats right, thats right, we are all friends and im so glad youre friends and thank you so much for being here today. Im so star struck. You dont even understand. Oh, youre so sweet. Hugs, miss holly. And kisses. One more, the other side, im from l. A. [ laughter ] so julia and i are going to go play while you share your story. Play . Play play play. Thanks for being here, everybody and thanks for you being so amazing. You are amazing, too, abby. And julia, you are amazing, thank you so much for being here. You want to play . Play play play give it up for julia and abby. [ applause ] thats a moment, guys, can i just add a superduper quick story thats relevant . You mentioned shafs on sesame street, i did have one appearance, my father didnt want me to be on because he didnt want me to be a show biz kid. See how that turned out . [ laughter ] but he let me come on once, i had one line and i blew my one line. I was supposed to say hi gordon. But i kept saying hi daddy. So i just got to walk down the Street Holding big birds hand so maybe one day sherrie ill get to make up for that. Im still not over it 40 something years later. Well, now im excited to introduce dr. Bruno anthony the leader of the Research Team whose work brings us together today. Dr. Anthony is the Deputy Director of the center of for child and Human Development and the vice chair of the department of pediatrics at georgetown university. His Research Interests range from Childrens Mental Health services to Development Psychopathology to Autism Spectrum Disorders. And dr. Anthony received a National Institute of Mental HealthCareer Development award in Mental Health services and since that time he has focused his work on interventions for children with Behavioral Health and Development Challenges so were very glad he is here today to present his preliminary findings regarding sesame street and autism see amazing in all children. Dr. Anthony . [ applause ] thanks, holly. Its