New Autistic Superhero for Children
2020-06-11
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1In the United States, public television stations are launching a new show for children in June.
2The PBS Kids' cartoon series is called Hero Elementary.
3It stars a group of young superheroes.
4The show is set inside an elementary school, also called a grade school.
5In the United States, children from about age four to age 11 go to such a school.
6The superheroes are four grade school students.
7They must learn how to use their superpowers as best they can.
8One girl, Lucita Sky, can fly, but she is afraid of high places.
9Another girl, Sara Snap, has the power to make herself appear anywhere immediately or in a snap.
10That, by the way, is superhero language for "teleport."
11Next, there is a boy called Benny Bubbles who uses, that's right, bubbles to create a protective area -- superhero language for a "force field."
12Finally, a boy named AJ Gadgets owns and operates a large collection of cool, unusual devices -- superhero language for -- you guessed it -- "gadgets."
13In addition to his cool gadgets, there is something else about AJ.
14He has a condition called Autism Spectrum Disorder.
15It affects his ability to communicate and interact with other people.
16Autism presents itself on different levels - from severe to high-performing.
17So, when we say someone is "on the spectrum," we mean they have some level of autism.
18AJ Gadgets is on the high-performing end of the spectrum.
19Some of his behavior is common to the autistic experience.
20For example, he does not like loud noises or wearing wet clothes.
21And he likes some things to stay the same.
22He likes to have his favorite things around him and hates it when they are lost.
23People familiar with autism might recognize these signs of autism in the show.
24However, the creators are perfectly fine if others do not.
25The children's show purposely does not directly talk about the issue of autism -- except for two shows running later in the series.
26AJ's autism just happens to be part of him.
27It is not the main part.
28As a valuable team member, he always comes to the rescue.
29The creators of Hero Elementary -- Christine Ferraro and Carol-Lynn Parente -- talked with The Associated Press about the show.
30Ferraro said there is "so much strength" in showing a child on the spectrum as just one of the team.
31Ferraro said AJ is just part of the group.
32"And that's something that we don't see a lot on television," she added.
33"And that's why we thought it was really important."
34The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2016, one in 54 children were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder by age 8.
35In 2014, the estimate was 1 in every 59 children.
36Linda Simensky works for PBS Kids.
37She said she likes the idea of AJ's inclusion.
38This means that a child on the autism spectrum is included in the team and treated just like the other children.
39Creators Ferraro and Parente have worked for many years with the children's TV series "Sesame Street."
40In 2015, that show introduced Julia, a 4-year-old girl with autism.
41However, when creating "Hero Elementary," Ferraro and Parente did not plan on having a child with autism as one of the superheroes.
42They said it just happened naturally.
43The PBS Kids series also has a teacher, Mr. Sparks.
44He helps the children use their own problem-solving skills such as observing, investigating, testing and predicting.
45He also teaches an important life lesson: If at first you don't succeed, try - try again.
46And often the school-age superheroes do not succeed!
47"You don't come into this world knowing how to do everything," said Ferraro.
48And so, these kids struggle to learn in school -- just like our kids struggle to learn how to do things."
49Simensky says she also likes this part of the show - children learning to solve their own problems.
50She said she sees too many shows where an adult solves the problems.
51On the TV series, team members learn to help themselves and each other.
52AJ's teammates are aware of his needs.
53In one show, the team searches for his lost backpack.
54The show's creators said they hope this shows children the importance of understanding others and normalize the idea that all kids are different.
55Parente said the show demonstrates understanding the different needs of a friend - whether it is autism or something else.
56Kids with autism may be a little different and have different needs, said Simensky.
57However, she added, "There is a place for kids with autism."
58And there is a place for their own valuable skills as well.
59I'm Anna Matteo.
1In the United States, public television stations are launching a new show for children in June. The PBS Kids' cartoon series is called Hero Elementary. It stars a group of young superheroes. 2The show is set inside an elementary school, also called a grade school. In the United States, children from about age four to age 11 go to such a school. 3The superheroes are four grade school students. They must learn how to use their superpowers as best they can. 4One girl, Lucita Sky, can fly, but she is afraid of high places. Another girl, Sara Snap, has the power to make herself appear anywhere immediately or in a snap. That, by the way, is superhero language for "teleport." 5Next, there is a boy called Benny Bubbles who uses, that's right, bubbles to create a protective area -- superhero language for a "force field." Finally, a boy named AJ Gadgets owns and operates a large collection of cool, unusual devices -- superhero language for -- you guessed it -- "gadgets." 6In addition to his cool gadgets, there is something else about AJ. He has a condition called Autism Spectrum Disorder. It affects his ability to communicate and interact with other people. 7Autism presents itself on different levels - from severe to high-performing. So, when we say someone is "on the spectrum," we mean they have some level of autism. 8AJ Gadgets is on the high-performing end of the spectrum. Some of his behavior is common to the autistic experience. For example, he does not like loud noises or wearing wet clothes. And he likes some things to stay the same. He likes to have his favorite things around him and hates it when they are lost. 9People familiar with autism might recognize these signs of autism in the show. However, the creators are perfectly fine if others do not. The children's show purposely does not directly talk about the issue of autism -- except for two shows running later in the series. 10AJ's autism just happens to be part of him. It is not the main part. As a valuable team member, he always comes to the rescue. 11The creators of Hero Elementary -- Christine Ferraro and Carol-Lynn Parente -- talked with The Associated Press about the show. 12Ferraro said there is "so much strength" in showing a child on the spectrum as just one of the team. Ferraro said AJ is just part of the group. "And that's something that we don't see a lot on television," she added. "And that's why we thought it was really important." 13The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2016, one in 54 children were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder by age 8. In 2014, the estimate was 1 in every 59 children. 14Linda Simensky works for PBS Kids. She said she likes the idea of AJ's inclusion. This means that a child on the autism spectrum is included in the team and treated just like the other children. 15Creators Ferraro and Parente have worked for many years with the children's TV series "Sesame Street." In 2015, that show introduced Julia, a 4-year-old girl with autism. 16However, when creating "Hero Elementary," Ferraro and Parente did not plan on having a child with autism as one of the superheroes. They said it just happened naturally. 17The PBS Kids series also has a teacher, Mr. Sparks. He helps the children use their own problem-solving skills such as observing, investigating, testing and predicting. He also teaches an important life lesson: If at first you don't succeed, try - try again. And often the school-age superheroes do not succeed! 18"You don't come into this world knowing how to do everything," said Ferraro. And so, these kids struggle to learn in school -- just like our kids struggle to learn how to do things." 19Simensky says she also likes this part of the show - children learning to solve their own problems. She said she sees too many shows where an adult solves the problems. 20On the TV series, team members learn to help themselves and each other. AJ's teammates are aware of his needs. In one show, the team searches for his lost backpack. The show's creators said they hope this shows children the importance of understanding others and normalize the idea that all kids are different. 21Parente said the show demonstrates understanding the different needs of a friend - whether it is autism or something else. 22Kids with autism may be a little different and have different needs, said Simensky. However, she added, "There is a place for kids with autism." And there is a place for their own valuable skills as well. 23I'm Anna Matteo. 24Mark Kennedy reported this story for The Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 25________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27cartoon - n. a movie or television program made by photographing a series of drawings 28in a snap - phrase. done, made, or carried through suddenly or without thinking 29bubble - n. a tiny, round ball of air or gas inside a liquid 30spectrum - n. a complete range of different opinions, people, etc. 31diagnose - v. to recognize (something, such as a disease) by signs and symptoms 32introduce - v. to make (someone) known to someone else by name 33lesson - n. an activity that you do in order to learn something 34backpack - n. chiefly US : a bag for carrying things that has two shoulder straps and is carried on the back