Big Bird, Bert and Ernie and the rest of the "Sesame Street" gang is making way for a new co-star: 9-year-old Tarah Schaeffer will be the first regularly appearing character in a wheelchair.

Tarah was chosen for the part from about 70 children who auditioned.She said what she likes most about being on "Sesame Street" is getting to know the characters.

"I'm lucky," she said. "I know the real people inside."

Tarah and her mother, Kathy, make the trip from Plainville, Conn., to New York City, where the show is taped, once or twice a week.

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Tarah has a disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as "brittle bones."

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