April is Autism Awareness month and I wanted to share this with you. Make sure you tune in April 6th to watch Dinosaur Train and #MeetDennis! LEARNING TO BE CURIOUS Lessons from The Jim Henson Company’s Dinosaur Train on PBS KIDS by Stephanie E. Meyer, Ph.D. The Dinosaur Train creative team contacted me to be an advisor when they were developing a new character who would serve as a challenge for Buddy the T-Rex in their new episode “Junior Conductor Academy” (check your local listings). Buddy, whom they described as a “super nice, positive guy,” was going to have to adjust to being put “out of his comfort zone by another kid named Dennis who beats him at every turn.” “Oh, and we’re thinking that maybe Dennis has autism.” they said. I loved the idea that Dennis’ autism was beside the point. As a child psychologist, the most exciting part to me is that the episode isn’t about Dennis having special needs, in fact, it’s an episode about friendship, understanding, a...
