348:. Compared to other portrayals of autism in media, Julia's T-Score—a rating of the severity of a child's autistic traits using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS2)—is much lower than the media average of 66. Her score, 45 is closer to the actual population average, 51. Julia's portrayal of autism goes against a history of media's gross exaggeration of autistic traits, instead showing children a much less stigmatized, more realistic, version of autism. Research has shown that Julia works as a learning tool for parents as well, leading to stronger understanding and greater acceptance of autistic children.
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321:, Julia is depicted as having difficulty doing multiple things at once, such as talking while swinging on a swing. Julia is shown to communicate in a slightly different manner than other characters her age; requiring questions to be repeated or rephrased, using shortened phrases to express herself, and
389:". These accusations and similar accusations have been prominently raised against Autism Speaks several times prior to this by various groups and individuals. Before deciding to cut ties, ASAN had tried discussing their opposition to Autism Speaks, repeatedly and in great depth with producers of
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ASAN condemned these PSAs and announced that they had cut all of their ties with Sesame
Workshop and the series in a statement released on August 5, 2019. ASAN argued that partnering with Autism Speaks could result in further stigmatization of autistic people and further promote negative
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criteria for diagnosed autism ("A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts; B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.") designed in a format which a children can easily understand.
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Ficarrotta, Sallyann. "Media
Portrayals of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Content Analysis of Julia from Sesame Street using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS2) and Stigmatizing Frames." 9th Annual GCUA Graduate Research Symposium,
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misunderstandings of autism in general. ASAN accused Autism Speaks of having a history of misrepresenting autism in an unduly negative manner, saying that Autism Speaks has even equated autism to a "terrible
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Autism Speaks chief strategic initiatives and innovation officer, Lisa Goring, stated that the group's goal is "to empower families with the information they need so their child can be successful".
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Julia made her first regular appearance on the main television series during episode 4715, which originally aired in the United States on April 2, 2017, a date strategically chosen to coincide with
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assumed the role of Julia, in which she uses her experiences as a mother of an autistic child, as well as her prior work as a rehabilitation specialist, to portray Julia in an authentic way.
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friends on Sesame Street, who often grow in their understanding of autism in the process. She lives with her supportive, well-structured and happy family consisting of her father Daniel (an
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It has been argued that Julia's introduction to Sesame Street opened the doors for international television studios to produce shows with autistic characters, such as BBC's
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177:). Since her debut Julia has received favorable and positive reception in general. Controversy surrounding Julia emerged in 2019 when she was featured in a series of
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146:. Julia is a friendly four-year-old girl who enjoys bonding with her supportive family and her friends on Sesame Street. She first appeared in 2015 in an online
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Anthony, Bruno J., et al. "Increasing autism acceptance: the impact of the Sesame Street "See
Amazing in All Children" initiative." Autism 24.1 (2020): 95-108
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Subsequent online initiatives, featuring the cartoon rendition of Julia, have since been released after her introduction into the main television series.
240:, behaviors of people in the autistic community vary drastically from person to person. The crew had debated on what autistic traits Julia should embody.
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staff members with autistic children wanting to add an autistic character to the program. She was initially developed with strong consultation from ASAN (
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The idea to feature an autistic character came about when writers, with autistic children, were relaying how much their children related to and loved
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Porter, Noriko. "Sesame Street to introduce a new Muppet with autism: An initiative aimed to reduce the stigma of autism.”
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Porter, Noriko. "Sesame Street to introduce a new Muppet with autism: An initiative aimed to reduce the stigma of autism.”
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Julia later made her first appearance on television series on
Episode 4715, which originally aired on April 2, 2017 (
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Suskind, R. (2017). Why the Team Behind Sesame Street
Created a Character With Autism. Smithsonian Magazine.
271:. Prior to her debut in the television series, a cartoon rendition of Julia appeared in a series of online
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from 1998 to 2004, and is the parent of an autistic child. It also works to represent the
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Sesame Street and Autism: See
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