Meet Julia. Zack Hyman/HBOOn Monday, Sesame Street introduced its newest Muppet, a redheaded 4- year- old with a fondness for tag and a stuffed bunny, to the world. Julia is the first autistic character ever to be introduced on the beloved children's program, a milestone for autistic representation on screen. But while the character made her official Sesame Street debut just days ago in “Meet Julia,” the character has been around since 2. Sesame. Street’s “See Amazing in All Children” initiative and was conceived through careful research and planning that included getting input from autism organizations and the autistic community directly. Among those consulted was Julia Bascom, executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. She assures me that the name similarity is pure coincidence.) Slate spoke to Bascom shortly after the episode’s debut about what advice she and her organization offered, what she thought of Julia's big debut, and why autistic representation is so important, especially for children. · Expert Reviewed. wiki How to Relate to an Autistic Person. Two Parts: Learning About Autism Behaving Around an Autistic. SENDIASS Leicester View Details. Our free service is available to parents/carers, children, young people and young adults living in Leicester City. Purpose – Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with a range of psychiatric disorders. However, making an accurate diagnosis is challenging. It is. · · This video shows the top 10 Aspergers Symptoms for people looking for a diagnosis on Aspergers Syndrome or ASD and Autism. Hey guys thank you for watching. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed. Slate: How did you come to be involved with Sesame Street in the first place? · Autistic Traits Below the Clinical Threshold: Re-examining the Broader Autism Phenotype in the 21st Century.![]() · Some "Aspergers" (high functioning autistic) children do not have Aspergers at all, they are simply "gifted." Has your child been misdiagnosed? Аутизм: Стремление вновь и вновь упорядочивать предметы — возможный признак аутизма. МКБ-10. · Explore information about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including signs and symptoms, treatment, research and statistics, and clinical trials. · An Autism Advocate Explains How She Helped Sesame Street Create Its New Autistic Muppet. Julia Bascom: We reached out to Sesame Street after the [initial 2. Right, even ASAN’s motto is “Nothing about us without us.”As founding principles go, I think it’s pretty useful. But we wanted to make sure they were talking not just to us but to other self- advocates and people who experience autism in different ways. What were the early conversations like while designing Julia’s character? We wanted to be sure, in keeping with the title of the initiative, that the portrayal was positive and respectful and included Julia’s strengths and what she’s like as a person. We didn’t want to show her as an educational object or an object of pity or a burden on the people around her. And Sesame was very on board with that. I think you could see that that’s how they approach their work generally, which was great to see. We also really wanted to focus on making sure that Julia had as much agency as possible and that the other characters were modelling respectful and inclusive behavior, since obviously a lot of typical kids are going to be watching Sesame and can learn a lot from that as well. But our big point was always just pushing and pushing and pushing to remember that autistic kids are going to be watching Sesame Street as well. The audience is not solely nonautistic peers or families. That said, a lot of this episode does come from a neurotypical perspective, framed around the idea of Big Bird meeting Julia and learning about autism for the first time. In fact, Big Bird initially assumes Julia doesn’t like him because she doesn’t respond to him right away, which obviously is not the case. Were there any specific misconceptions surrounding autism that you wanted to clear up with this character? I think the challenge was always going to be that you have a single character, and no single story can fully represent the entirety of the spectrum, especially if you’re trying to make that character a person and not just “autism on a stick.”We can list misconceptions about autism all day long and some of them will be addressed and some of them won’t. I do think it’s significant that Julia is a girl. There’s a pretty popular belief that girls are less likely to be autistic than boys, and there’s not actually a lot of evidence for that. But there is a lot of evidence that girls, because of bias, get diagnosed later and less often, so it was really great to see a girl autistic character. No single story can fully represent the entirety of the spectrum, especially if you’re trying to make that character a person and not just “autism on a stick.”They made a big deal of how Julia wants to play and she wants to have friends, which obviously addressed a lot of stereotypes in that. She doesn’t talk very much, but she’s communicating constantly. Sometimes she’ll say “yes,” sometimes she’ll move her body in a happy or excited way, sometimes she’ll repeat something that someone else has said, and all of those things are recognized as communication. You have the stereotype of autistic people who are noncommunicative, but I’ve never met a noncommunicative autistic person. I’ve met lots of people who are communicative in nonstandard ways, and it’s really important that people how the other characters are responding to that. When Alan (Alan Muraoka) is explaining what autism means for Julia to Big Bird, I was struck by one line in particular: He makes a point of saying something along the lines of, “Julia likes people to know that she has autism.”That’s a big deal! I was really excited when I heard that line. It’s a way to give Julia agency in an episode that, sort of by necessity, has a lot of people having conversations about her without her being present. You know, I don’t know a lot of autistic 4- year- olds who are ready to get up and eloquently explain their disability yet. When you’re 4, you need other people to help those conversations take place. But it was such a good way to give her agency and also just to model for viewers that people with disabilities have boundaries and have a right to privacy about our disabilities and that telling other people that information is something that a character needs to consent to. It’s this little line that’s just kind of tacked on but it has so much in it. Julia is performed by puppeteer Stacey Gordon, and the character shows some physical traits associated with autism, including flapping her hands and avoiding eye contact at times. Did you have any input about what mannerisms Julia might have? We were never given a list of traits and asked to pick some or anything like that. But my understanding is that they went for things that are fairly common and fairly visible, while also being careful to say this is what autism is like for Julia. At one point while the Muppets are playing tag, a siren goes off, and Julia has a strong, upset reaction to the noise. What did you think of that scene and how it played out? What I really noticed is that she was being supported through her meltdown. She’s not being punished or yelled at or shamed for having this reaction. When Big Bird says, “Well, it wasn’t that loud,” the other characters say, “It’s loud for Julia,” which again is something that’s really important even for adults to hear, but particularly for preschoolers to hear. And what impressed me is that Alan responded to that the same way he would to other characters having a hard time. They go to a quiet place and they do some deep breathing. Sesame’s had this big social- emotional education component for several years, so they’re calling on skill and concepts that kids watching the show are already familiar with. It’s not just helping Julia but reminding typical kids how they can handle having a hard time as well. It’s not stigmatized or something Julia gets in trouble for. And the reality is that autistic people get in trouble for that kind of thing all the time, so to see that being handled so respectfully, with a focus on You feel really bad right now, we’re gonna find ways to make you feel better, was really encouraging to see. Julia is the focus of the first 1. But then she’s not really involved in any of the educational segments that follow in the HBO episode. What do you hope to see Julia doing in future episodes? That’s really a critical question. What’s gonna determine the success of this initiative is whether or not Julia is integrated into episodes going forward and background moments where autism isn’t talked about. A lot of shows are good at doing a special episode about a character with a disability and then the character never comes back. What’s most important in terms of representation and in terms of having a transformative effect is just seeing the character over and over again in everyday situations. I’m hopeful that she’ll be included like that in future episodes, because Sesame has a pretty strong track record with other characters with disabilities. My favorite clip of Julia so far, and the one that I think is the most transformative, isn’t actually in the episode, it’s one of the clips that was released online. It’s her and Abby and they’re just sort of playing side by side and Julia starts humming the Sesame. Street theme and then Abby starts singing it and they go back and forth. They’re happy and they’re playing and never say the word autism, but autistic kids are gonna see that and know that she’s autistic and typical kids are gonna see that and recognize their friend. I also love another clip they released where Abby is having a hard time blowing bubbles and Julia comes up with a creative solution and sort of saves the day. Right! There’s that moment in the episode where Alan is explaining that Julia does things a little differently and sometimes that’s just what works for her—and then he tells Big Bird, “but she also does some things that you might want to try.” And they’re using the way she’s playing tag as the example there. The portion of the disability rights movement that my organization is involved with is called neurodiversity. It’s this idea that there are lots of different ways to have a brain and lots of different ways to be a person and they’re all important and valid. That’s something that gets overlooked a lot when you’re talking about autism or folks with intellectual disabilities. It was great to see Julia portrayed as this curious kid with thoughts and ideas that other kids can learn from as well—and not just in a “how to be nice to someone” way but in a “how to blow bubbles” way or “how to play tag” way. The episode just debuted, but Julia as a character has been around for a while. What has some of the response within the community been like to her character? Obviously you can never design a character that makes everybody happy, especially with such a diverse disability, and people have had different reactions based on their experiences. I’ve seen a largely positive response overall. Autism facts and history - NASFacts and statistics about autism, including how many autistic people are in the UK, how many autistic people have learning disabilities, a breakdown by gender, a history of autism studies, and some common myths and facts about the condition. How does autism affect children, adults and their families? The term 'autism' is used here to describe all diagnostic profiles, including Asperger syndrome and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Without understanding, autistic people and families are at risk of being isolated and developing mental health problems. Autism is much more common than many people think. There are around 7. UK – that's more than 1 in 1. If you include their families, autism is a part of daily life for 2. Autism doesn't just affect children. Autistic children grow up to be autistic adults. Autism is a hidden disability – you can't always tell if someone is autistic. While autism is incurable, the right support at the right time can make an enormous difference to people's lives. Seventy per cent of autistic adults say that they are not getting the help they need from social services. Seventy per cent of autistic adults also told us that with more support they would feel less isolated. At least one in three autistic adults are experiencing severe mental health difficulties due to a lack of support. Only 1. 6% of autistic adults in the UK are in full- time paid employment, and only 3. Only 1. 0% of autistic adults receive employment support but 5. References. 1 The NHS Information Centre, Community and Mental Health Team, Brugha, T. Estimating the prevalence of autism spectrum conditions in adults: extending the 2. Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Leeds: NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care. Reid, B. (2. 01. 1). Great Expectations. London: The National Autistic Society, p. Reid, B. (2. 01. 1). Great Expectations. London: The National Autistic Society, p. Reid, B. (2. 01. 1). Great Expectations. London: The National Autistic Society, p. Bancroft et al (2. The Way We Are: Autism in 2. London: The National Autistic Society. Rosenblatt, M (2. I Exist: the message from adults with autism in England. London: The National Autistic Society, p. The National Autistic Society (2. The autism employment gap: Too Much Information in the workplace. Bancroft et al (2. The Way We Are: Autism in 2. London: The National Autistic Society. How many people in the UK are autistic? Around 7. 00,0. 00 people may be autistic, or more than 1 in 1. There is no register or exact count kept. Any information about the possible number of autistic people in the community must be based on epidemiological surveys (ie studies of distinct and identifiable populations). The latest prevalence studies of autism indicate that 1. UK may be on the autism spectrum. This means that over 6. UK may be autistic, an estimate derived from the 1. UK census figures. The prevalence rate is based on two relatively recent studies, one of children and the other of adults. The prevalence study of children, (Baird G. South Thames area. The study of adults was published in two parts, Brugha et al (2. The NHS Information Centre, Community and Mental Health Team, Brugha et al (2. This is the only known prevalence study to have been done of an adult population. Autism and learning disabilities. What proportion of autistic people have a learning disability? Between 4. 4% - 5. Between 4. 8% - 5. Research findings on the proportion of autistic people who also have learning disabilities (IQ less than 7. Fombonne et al (2. IQ, found a range of 3. Emerson and Baines (2. Explanation of why these findings are so variable and the reliability of the figures can be found in both Emerson and Baines (2. Fombonne et al (2. What proportion of people with a learning disability are autistic? Around a third of people with a learning disability may also be autistic. Around a third of people who have learning disabilities (IQ less than 7. Emerson and Baines in 2. The adult prevalence study, The NHS Information Centre, Community and Mental Health Team, Brugha et al.(2. Autism and gender. How many men and boys compared to women and girls have an autism diagnosis? Five times as many males as females are diagnosed with autism. The proportion of males as opposed to females diagnosed with autism varies across studies, but always shows a greater proportion of males. Fombonne at al (2. Baird et al (2. 00. The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey looked at people in private households, and found a prevalence rate of 1. Brugha et al, 2. 00. However, when they extended the study to include those people with learning disabilities who had been unable to take part in the APMS in 2. The NHS Information Centre, Community and Mental Health Team, Brugha et al, 2. Note that autism is under- diagnosed in females, and therefore the male to female ratio of those who are on the autism spectrum may be closer than is indicated by the figure of 5: 1. The under recognition of autism in females is discussed in Gould and Ashton- Smith (2. Read more about gender and autism. A history of autism studies. It is more than 5. Leo Kanner first described his classic autistic syndrome. Since then, the results of research and clinical work have led to the broadening of the concept of the autism spectrum. In consequence, estimates of prevalence have increased considerably. This process has occurred in stages, the start of each of which can be linked to particular studies. Read our charity's timeline to find out more about the history of The National Autistic Society. Kanner syndrome. 19. The specific pattern of abnormal behaviour first described by Leo Kanner is also known as 'early infantile autism'. Kanner made no estimate of the possible numbers of people with this condition but he thought that it was rare (Kanner, 1. Over 2. 0 years later, Victor Lotter published the first results of an epidemiological study of children with the behaviour pattern described by Kanner in the former county of Middlesex, which gave an overall prevalence rate of 4. Lotter, 1. 96. 6). The triad of impairments in children with learning disabilities. In 1. 97. 9 Lorna Wing and Judith Gould examined the prevalence of autism, as defined by Leo Kanner, among children known to have special needs in the former London Borough of Camberwell. They found a prevalence in those with IQ under 7. Lotter. However, as well as looking at children with Kanner autism, Wing and Gould also identified a larger group of children (about 1. Although these children did not fit into the full picture of early childhood autism (or typical autism) as described by Kanner, they were identified as being within the broader 'autism spectrum'. Thus, the total prevalence rate for the spectrum in all children with special needs in the Camberwell study was found to be approximately 2. Wing and Gould, 1. Gillberg et al (1. Gothenburg, Sweden, found very similar rates in children with learning disabilities. There have been a number of other epidemiological studies in different countries examining the prevalence of autism (but not the whole spectrum). These results range from 3. Wing and Potter, 2. Asperger syndrome. The studies described above identified autism in children, the great majority of whom had learning disabilities and special educational needs. However, in 1. 94. Hans Asperger in Vienna had published an account of children with many similarities to Kanner autism but who had abilities, including grammatical language, in the average or superior range. There are continuing arguments concerning the exact relationship between Asperger and Kanner syndromes but it is beyond dispute that they have in common the triad of impairments of social interaction, communication and imagination and a narrow, repetitive pattern of activities (Wing, 1. In 1. 99. 3, Stephan Ehlers and Christopher Gillberg published the results of a further study carried out in Gothenburg in which they examined children in mainstream schools in order to find the prevalence of Asperger syndrome and other autism profiles in children with IQ of 7. From the numbers of children they identified they calculated a rate of 3. Asperger syndrome and another 3. Some of the latter may have fitted Asperger description if more information had been available, but they were certainly on the autism spectrum. The children who were identified were known by their teachers to be having social and/or educational problems but the nature of their difficulties had not been recognised prior to the study. For over 3. 0 years, Sula Wolff, in Edinburgh, has studied children of average or high ability who are impaired in their social interaction but who do not have the full picture of the triad of impairments. In her book giving results of her studies (Wolff, 1. Asperger syndrome to a large extent. However, these children represent the most subtle and most able end of the autism spectrum. The majority become independent as adults, many marry and some display exceptional gifts, though retaining the unusual quality of their social interactions. Why include them in the autism spectrum? As Sula Wolff points out, they often have a difficult time at school and they need recognition, understanding and acceptance from their parents and teachers. The approach that suits them best is the same as that which is recommended for children with Asperger syndrome and high- functioning autism. In her discussion of prevalence, Sula Wolff quotes Ehlers and Gillberg's study. She considers that their total figure of 7. Autism spectrum. 20. A survey by the Office of National Statistics of the mental health of children and young people in Great Britain found a prevalence rate of 0. Green et al, 2. 00. These were not differentiated into autism, Asperger syndrome or other profiles on the autism spectrum. Gillian Baird and her colleagues published a report of a prevalence study which surveyed a population of children aged 9- 1.
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