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Atypical's Amy Okuda standing at a podium with the sign Media Access Awards

Amy Okuda Presents Award to Atypical Creator for Portraying Disability Narrative

Atypical's Amy Okuda standing at a podium with the sign Media Access Awards

Atypical‘s Amy Okuda

Beverly Hills, Nov. 18 – “Sam is a teenage boy that is looking for love and acceptance but that is what makes the show so great. Sam in every way is a normal testosterone exploding teenager; he is just one that sees life in a unique prism,” said Amy Okuda as she presented the 2017 Writers Guild of America West Evan Somers Memorial Award to Robia Rashid at the 2017 Media Access Awards.

Sam is the main character or the Netflix original series written by Rashid called Atypical. The series follows a teenage boy with autism as he navigates life and love.

The Media Access Awards honors individuals who are showcasing the disability narrative and are doing diversity right. Okuda said she was honored to be able to present an award to Atypical’s creator Rashid.

“You learn to accept and appreciate Sam for the singular person that he is and you will start to see everyone with a disability in a new light, a human light. I know I did it really changed my life,” said Okuda of her role as Julia, a passionate therapist that pushes Sam to try new things.

Okuda herself is quite accomplished as well. Although she is young (28 years old), her resume is long. She has appeared in commercials for Apple, danced in music videos and previously starred in famous producer and director Shonda Rhimes’ How To Get Away With Murder.

Read the profile on Robia Rashid’s Media Access Awards win on our website: https://www.respectability.org/2017/11/18/robia-rashid-writer-producer-creator-atypical-calls-stories-inclusion-diversity/.

Meet the Author

Julia Wood

Julia Wood is a Communications Fellow at RespectAbility and a senior at Emerson College. She is not stranger when it comes to advocating for people with disabilities. Growing up she advocated for her sister who had Mitochondrial Disease and Leukemia. Previously she volunteered for "Buddy Ball” and “Make-A-Wish.”

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