Flummox and Friends: That's a wrap!

We just finished shooting our pilot episode. And here's a behind-the-scenes video to give you a sneak peek!

Subtype: Goofball

I've been noticing that autistic characters, or characters with autistic traits, have been showing up in lots of TV shows and movies lately. Joseph Kahn at the Boston Globe noticed this too and wrote an article about it.

I like that this is happening. Autistic traits are, after all, part of the spectrum of human traits, and they deserve to be represented in a variety of ways (not just in a Hallmark Hall of Fame tragic way) and they can make for pretty interesting material for character development and interaction within a story.

But what I've noticed is that when I see autistic/Asperger's characters in popular culture, they often conform to a fairly narrow type: overly serious, fixated, unemotional, occasionally non-verbal but with amazing superpowers.

I enjoy watching Max on Parenthood, for example, but it kind of bugs me that I can't recall many - if any - episodes where I've seen him laugh, or even smile.

The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon's logical, literal, loquaciousness is great comedy material, but Sheldon himself is a pretty deadpan guy.

My favorite character with autistic traits is Abed, on NBC's Community. He's clearly an Aspergerian guy, though the show doesn't belabor a diagnosis. He's obsessed with pop culture, and given the best story lines on the show (interestingly, creator Dan Harmon discovered he himself was on the spectrum while writing for Abed) but even Abed doesn't smile or laugh much.

These characteristics aren't totally inaccurate. In fact, one of the characters I've developed for Flummox and Friends, Milo, is more serious and intense. Frankly, because it makes good fodder for the story, the interactions, and the teachable moments about flexibility and receptivity to others.

So while I applaud the trend, I think there's still opportunity to expand people's notion of what autism looks like across that oh so broad spectrum. And for me, there's something - maybe a "subtype" - missing from the current array of characters: the picture of autism that I see everyday at home with my son.

The goofball.

And when I say "goofball" I mean a kid who wants to practice spit takes at dinner, who skips everywhere he goes, who acts out Looney Tunes scenes in the aisles of the grocery store, who directs his parents in comedy sketches, who laughs his way to sleep at night thinking about funny things in his head, and rehearses the "Who's on First?" routine until he's doubled over with hiccups.

Yes, he can also be fixated, anxious, socially clueless, sometimes even emotionally unresponsive, but primarily, he is a goofball: craving laughter and fun, sometimes to the point of perseveration, to the point of his parents and friends have to ask him to put a lid on it once in a while.

And I know he's not the only one. In fact, just recently, I discovered there's a comedy group, Aspergers Are Us, comprised of a group of young Aspies.

Breaking news: autistic people have a sense of humor.

So I hope to someday see a character with autistic traits in popular culture that's more of a goofball, who will smile a little more often, laugh a little more often, and maybe even quote Daffy Duck once in a while, because that's a big part of what autism looks like to me.

It's been a good week

You said "yes!"

On Monday night, I watched as donations to Flummox and Friends came in one after another, pushing us closer and closer to the $30K goal. But along with all the excitement, I was, frankly, exhausted.

It's been quite an eventful fall, with this video project being just one of several things I'm juggling (though none quite as fun as this). We were $600 away from the goal and I assumed we'd hit it in the morning.

"Wake me if we go over," I told Chris, somewhat as a formality, and got in bed.

Ten minutes later, he shouted for me to get up and yes, we had gotten a donation that pushed the total to the $30,000 we needed, assuring that we could collect all of the pledges made to date.

The experience has been humbling and inspiring. Getting support from hundreds of people that don't know me or the other team members personally, but who said "yes" on the merits of the idea alone shows me that we're on to something. Something exciting.

This is a note I sent to our supporters on Monday night:



And here are a few links to articles and interviews about the project that you can check out and share with friends who might still like to donate up until December 9th.

***Just released!*** My interview with Jeremy Fuksa of The Cocktail Napkin podcast. Download audio or video versions.

Jean Winegardner's article in Washington Times Communities

Shannon Rosa's interview with me in The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism

I hope you'll follow along with our progress by liking our Facebook page, following us on Twitter, or, if you haven't already, pledging a few bucks to our Kickstarter campaign so you can receive the backer updates that we'll be sending to all of our supporters so they can watch us spend their hard earned cash making the pilot episode of Flummox and Friends.

Thanks to all of you made donations, to those who blogged and re-blogged and tweeted and re-tweeted, who cajoled and nudged your friends and family and coworkers to help make this happen.

Fist bumps all around and stay tuned!

Data visualization

(Disclosure: I stole most of this post from my husband Chris' Tumblr.)

After years of resisting art and non-homework-related writing, Ben has taken to drawing in the last couple of weeks in an astonishing way. Our dining room table is now covered with sheets of paper with his drawings and he'll happily sit for up to 30 minutes at a stretch, drawing scenes of from his favorite stories and movies.

This one is my favorite. It's so revealing of how Ben's mind works. I'm glad he's found another way to express what's going on in there.

(The description and reference image is from Chris.)



Data visualization of the National Spelling Bee, as portrayed in A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN.

In which color indicates the proportion of correct (green) and incorrect (red) answers given by each contestant.

Charlie Brown appears in the lower center, his face mostly green, reflecting his 2nd place ranking overall.

Walking and reading

This might be my favorite picture of Ben ever. If you want to know who he is, this picture pretty much says it all.



Taken by Chris, via Instagram

3-2-1 LAUNCH!

I meant to write this earlier, but I've been too busy refreshing my screen every few minutes.

Last night, we finally launched the Kickstarter campaign for Flummox and Friends and I've been giddy and transfixed watching the "Likes," the "Shares," the comments and, most of all, the donations come in.

We've raised 25% of our $30,000 goal in fewer than 24 hours.

I was thinking I'd write something profound about the power of social networks and community and putting your work out there without asking permission from the usual institutional gatekeepers...

And I was thinking I'd write something profound about why we need a show like this: a show that knows our kids are funny and smart and won't talk down to them and why that's a bigger deal than most people understand...

But to be honest, I'm just so freaking happy that so many people are saying nice things in public about this project and I'm not going to be able say anything profound.

But I can say this:

You think you have a good idea, but it sounds kind of crazy to actually try to do it.

But you do it anyway, because you can't not do it.

And you try not to think about the whole thing and how crazy it is and how hard it's going to be and how you're probably going to fail, you just finish each tiny step - whatever is - that's directly in front of you.

Send an email. Make a call. Write something. Get help from someone who knows how.

Pretty soon, you're doing it. All those steps add up to the thing.

Then when other people see it and tell you that it really is a good idea...well it's kind of unbelievable. And then, when they pitch in to help:

Also. Unbelievable.

I hope you'll help me make a smart, funny show for our smart, funny kids.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to refreshing my Facebook feed.