Emily Perl Kingsley is a writer who joined the Sesame Street team in 1970 and has been writing for the show ever since. Her son Jason Kingsley was born with Down Syndrome in 1974. At the time of his birth, it was commonly believed that children with Down Syndrome could never learn to walk or talk. Kinglsley's work as a writer and activist for children with special needs helped change this perception. Her experiences with Jason inspired her to include people with disabilities into the Sesame Street cast, including a wheelchair-bound actress Tarah Schaeffer, and even Jason himself. Jason's story was the topic of an hour-long NBC television special in 1977, titled "This Is My Son," and with co-author Mitchell Levitz, Jason wrote the book "Count Us In: Growing Up With Down Syndrome." In 1987 Kingsley wrote "Welcome to Holland," a widely published and translated piece which compares the experience of raising a special needs child with traveling to an unexpected destination. The same year a made for television movie she wrote "Kids Like These," premiered on CBS-TV. The film, about a middle-aged couple who have a son with Down Syndrome, won numerous awards. Kingsley has written over 20 children's books and two Sesame Street home video releases (Elmo Learns to Share and Elmo Says Boo). She writes for other companies as well, and recently contributed to two Disney Interactive CD-ROMS. She has won 12 Daytime Emmys and 9 nominations through her work with Sesame Street, three EDIs and a Grand EDI from Easter Seals, and an award from the National Theatre of the Deaf.
Credits
- Sesame Street: Writer (1970-????)
- Elmo Learns to Share: Writer
- Elmo Says Boo: Writer
