Sesame Street's inclusive new character

New Sesame Street character Julia, is breaking boundaries around autism. Photo / Twitter

Sesame Street has a new, autistic character - and she's busy breaking down barriers.

Julia is the first muppet of her kind on the show and part of a new initiative Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children

The concept includes a free app with storybooks, video and song.

"Families with autistic children tend to gravitate toward digital content, which is why we created Julia digitally," executive vice president of global impacts and philanthropy, Sherrie Westin, told People.

"We want parents and children to understand that autism isn't an uncomfortable topic."

Join us to celebrate the uniqueness of every child with our new Amazing Song! https://t.co/6cwnY10Csn #SeeAmazing pic.twitter.com/WgumpjwGTt

— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) October 21, 2015

Julia addresses some of the issues around autism in a way kids can understand.

"If you're five years old, and see another kid not making eye contact with you, you may think that child doesn't want to play with you," Westin said.

"But that's not the case, we want to create greater awareness and empathy."

The goal is to remove stigma and decrease bullying in the playground.

"Our goal is to bring forth what all children share in common, not their differences," adds senior vice president of U.S. social impact, Dr. Jeanette Betancourt."

- nzherald.co.nz