Julia Sasaki

**Julia Sasaki** is the supporting character and Sam Gardner's therapist who is introduced in Season 1 of *Atypical*. She helps Sam's life to navigate through his social issues in the neurotypical world. Julia is portrayed by actress Amy Okuda.

## Biography

### Season 1

In the beginning of the series, she encourages Sam to start pursuing a romantic relationship if that's what he feels he wants. Sam's mother initially feels that Julia has too much power over Sam, and there is a little conflict between the two, as Julia recommends that Elsa deals with some of her own issues via a therapy session.

Julia manages to bond with Doug, discussing Sam's issues and his father's new approach to being in his life. Furthermore, she talks about her younger brother, Jessie, that he is autistic like Sam, but he is less verbal and less independent than Sam is.

Julia was originally oblivious to the fact that she becomes a love interest for Sam. After Sam's affections grow, his solution is to woo her with chocolate-covered strawberries, and he illegally enters her house through the window, accidentally leaves one behind. Julia later discovers ants in her home, heading for the strawberry. She assumes her boyfriend, Miles, is cheating on her, and this ultimately ends their relationship.

In a fit of anger, Julia calls Miles and asks him to collect his things; in the process, she injures herself and is eventually taken to a hospital by Sam's father to get her foot checked out. She's then informed that, in addition to her fractured foot, she‘s pregnant.

She spirals into an emotional breakdown with the news, turning up at Sam's work to collect a new TV. Sam helps her to her car, and the two share advice on how to slow dance, sparking Sam's attraction to Julia even more. He then turns up in her office and propositions her with chocolate-covered strawberries. He also reveals to Julia that he sneaked into her house. Julia, in a poor emotional state, confronts Sam about being inappropriate and crossing the line of appropriate behavior herself, as well as her saying that he is younger than her and that she'll get fired for hooking up with a teenager, preventing her from paying off about $200,000 of student loan debt. Sam has an episode or a meltdown, leaves the office and becomes disoriented on a bus. Ultimately, he is rescued by his parents.

Julia writes an apology letter to Sam, letting him know that their relationship must remain professional and that she really shouldn't have crossed the line in her approach to confronting him. Regardless, Julia no longer allows Sam to interview with her in therapy sessions after the incident between them.

At the end of Season 1, Miles proposes to Julia, with the phrase "you win, let's get married". Her response is seemingly in disbelief and anger.

### Season 2

However, Julia calls Miles and she discovers that he has abandoned her and her baby by taking a job with 'Doctors Without Borders in Africa' on a two-year internship. After he arrogantly tells her to "text me when the kid is born" before hanging up, Julia sighs and says to the baby "Yep, Daddy's a douchebag". Later on, she introduces her younger brother to Elsa Gardner briefly.

### Season 3

Julia gives birth to her baby, a baby boy name "Hanzo". Elsa turns to Julia for advice about handling her marriage to Doug. In the last episode, Julia helps Elsa realize that she has backed down too much. In addition, Julia hires a teenage girl to be Hanzo’s nanny at the end of the episode.

### Season 4

In Season 4, Julia is one of the 5 people, who Sam interviews about why college is important as part of his extra credit assignment from Professor Judd.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* Antarctica (S1:E1)
* A Human Female (S1:E2)
* Julia Says (S1:E3)
* A Nice Neutral Smell (S1:E4)
* That's My Sweatshirt (S1:E5)
* The D-Train to Bone Town (S1:E6)
* I Lost My Poor Meatball (S1:E7)
* The Silencing Properties of Snow (S1:E8)

### Season 2

* Juiced! (S2:E1)
* Penguin Cam and Chill (S2:E2)
* Little Dude and the Lion (S2:E3)
* Pants on Fire (S2:E4)
* The Egg Is Pipping (S2:E5)
* In the Dragon's Lair (S2:E6)
* The Smudging (S2:E7)
* Living at an Angle (S2:E8)
* Ritual-licious (S2:E9)
* Ernest Shackleton's Rules for Survival (S2:E10)

### Season 3

* Best Laid Plans (S3:E1)
* Cocaine Pills and Pony Meat (S3:E3)
* Shrinkage (S3:E7)
* Searching for Brown Sugar Man (S3:E10)

## Trivia

* Julia is Japanese-American, alongside her baby, Hanzo and her younger brother, Jessie.
* Her younger brother, Jessie, is autistic. He wasn't diagnosed with it until he was 16, because his parents thought it was just a phase that he would grow out of due to his speech issues, similar to real-life people with schizophrenia.
* According to Elsa's calendar, Sam and Julia have therapy meetings on Tuesdays, however, Sam states his meetings used to be on Mondays at 4 pm.
* She’s 26-27 in Season 1, as Sam states early in the Season, that Julia is 26 and 3 quarters and Julia later states in the Season that she‘s 27.