Channel: Attitude

Category: Entertainment

Tags: autism symptomsautistic advocatebeing meautistic artistautismautism self advocacyautism in womenautism acceptanceautism advocate dollautism in girlsautism muppetautistic puppet showautism acceptance trainingautism spectrum disorderautism advocacy

Description: Julia Young was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder when she was still at primary school. Finding it difficult to negotiate a world that is not designed for people like her, Julia taught herself to use soft toys to help her communicate with others. She has a group of lemur characters who go everywhere with her and talk to and through Julia. When Julia left school she found it difficult to find her place in the world - but this all changed when she joined the creative space known as Studio 2. Julia now has a busy life as an artist and musician, and also devotes her time to being a disability advocate. She puts her rich life down to her determination to focus on positivity. In Dunedin, Julia and her lemurs are famous as hosts of The Positivity Radio Show, whose special guests have included Neil Finn, Dominic Bowden, and Chloe Swarbrick.