User:DashandMaude/Julia (Sesame Street)

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Julia is a fictional character on the children's television program Sesame Street, known for being the first Sesame Street character with autism. She is a yellow hand and rod muppet-style puppet with short red hair and green eyes. The character premiered on television on 12 April 2017, though she was introduced in “digital form” in 2015. Her debut marked a new phase of Sesame Workshop’s autism awareness initiative, Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children, which provides resources “designed to serve autistic children and their families”. The character is performed by puppeteer Stacey Gordon, who has a son with autism. Julia Bascom of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network was consulted to create the character Julia. In 2019, the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network ended its partnership with Sesame Street after PSAs featuring Julia promoted an initiative for Autism Speaks.

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Over the course of four television seasons, a Sesame Street episode from each season starring Julia has premiered simultaneously on HBO and PBS on the same day in April, which is recognized as Autism Awareness Month. These shows include Julia's introductory episode (No. 4715), "Shape Hunt" (No. 4821), "Julia's Haircut" (No. 4921), "The Fluffster Kerfuffle" (No. 5021), “Match It” (No. 5122), and “Kind Alan” (No. 5222). This departs from a previously established deal between HBO and Sesame Workshop, in which first-run episodes on the network air on PBS following a nine-month window. These episodes have also premiered on the second Monday in April, which deviates from HBO's regular airing of Sesame Street episodes on Saturdays.

Sesame Street has been used as a vehicle to teach children more about the world they live in. The show takes place on a normal street with a community and therefore it has been used to represent the community these children encounter. Specific characters have been introduced to discuss tough topics like death, parents in the military, and there was even an HIV-AIDs positive character during the AIDs epidemic. The idea for the autistic character, Julia, came about when writers who were parents of children on the spectrum were relaying how much their children related to and loved Sesame Street. Typically disabled communities do not have power when it comes to their portrayal in the media. Autism is a spectrum and therefore the behaviors of people in the autistic community vary drastically. The team at Sesame Street had to figure out what autistic traits Julia would embody. Most media that portrays individuals with Autism portrays them as high-functioning and verbal which is not usually the case in the Autistic community. Puppeteer Stacey Gordon tries to use her experiences as a mother of a child on the autism spectrum as well as her prior work as a habilitation specialist to portray Julia in an authentic way.

In 2019, Julia became involved in a controversy surrounding the autistic community and autistic representation. One of the most prominent organizations surrounding autism is Autism Speaks. Many members of the autistic community believe that this organization has not benefited the community and in many ways has actually been traumatizing. They believe the rhetoric being conveyed furthers the stigmatization of autistic people. “Lisa Goring, Autism Speaks’ chief strategic initiatives and innovation officer, said the group’s job ‘is to empower families with the information they need so their child can be successful’”. Julia  was used as the face for an Autism Speaks campaign encouraging early Autism screenings. As a result the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), an organization run for and by Autistic people, ended their partnership with Sesame Street.