A reminder of the Arthur episode which explained Asperger's brilliantly

A few years ago, we shared the inspiring news that Sesame Street has introduced a character with autism, but did you know that popular cartoon Arthur introduced a character with Asperger’s syndrome way back in 2010?

Carl, a rabbit, appeared in seven episodes of the show.

In episode ‘When Carl Met George’ Asperger’s is explained brilliantly.

At the beginning of the episode, George is introduced to Carl, and at first he cannot understand Carl’s seemingly unusual behaviour.

"When I first met Carl, I wasn’t sure if he liked me or not. He didn’t laugh at my jokes and he didn’t look at me that much while I was talking to him," explained George.

However, in the course of the episode, through a sensitive and accurate portrayal of a child with Asperger’s, and with some help from his friends, George soon begins to understand Carl.

"He has a lot of trouble being around other people – his brain just works differently. What’s normal to us can seem really strange to him," George's friend The Brain explains.

He described it like this: "imagine you have crash landed on an alien planet. It looks like earth but there are lots of differences, for one a lot of people seem to talk really loudly, and even though you speak the same language you sometimes have a hard time understanding what they mean, and things that seem hilarious to you, aren’t funny at all to them.

"You wish the scientists back on earth had given you a guidebook but they forgot to pack one so you have to try to learn things all on your own."

"Sometimes Carl can get really quiet, or not answer when I say something," George then explained. "He’s not being rude, he just acts a little differently. Now that I understand that, I know it’s okay. I’m learning from Carl that there are lots of different ways to be friends. I’m glad he’s my friend. I like him for who he is, and I think he feels the same about me!"

We absolutely love this explanation of this particular form of autism, and it no doubt educated children and parents who watched the show on what having Asperger’s actually means, fostering much needed understanding and empathy.