Have you ever seen a character with autism portrayed authentically? What about ADHD?

Growing up I never truly saw my life on the screen. I never saw someone with ADHD going to Resource Room. I never saw someone having to get extended time to finish a test. Instead, what I saw was that I was stupid. That it’s my fault I have trouble focusing. Episodes of shows like The Simpsons would show Bart taking meds and becoming a more bearable person. I became embarrassed of the fact that I took ADHD meds even though I was getting help. Shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt show ADHD medication as an answer to bad parenting showing that medication puts kids in a zombie-like state, making them more easily controlled. Perpetuating the stereotype that ADHD is caused by bad parenting. Making parents less likely to get their kids diagnosed.

In addition, Autistic characters are rarely ever shown as people in media. Rather opting to portray autistics as empty shells. Cold emotionless robots, requiring much care. Seldom portrayed by Autistic actors. Rather, they are played by neurotypical actors, who are wearing autism as if it’s a costume. Exaggerating the disorder, dramatizing its symptoms, and humiliating the us who have to live with it every day.

The world needs a series that shows what growing up being neurodiverse truly means told by those who actually went through it.

The Schneiders aren’t your neurotypical family. Taking place, a year after the death of their mother, Samantha “Sam” Schneider, a teenage girl with ADHD, and Jackson “Jack” Schneider her autistic twin brother who are forced to coexist at the same school.

Throughout the show, What’s the Rule explores what two very different sides of special education look like. We explore the idea of what it is like to be a single parent with two special needs children.

Our goal is to produce the pilot episode utilizing a neurodiverse cast and crew that are often kept from entering the industry.

Currently, we are in the process of building out our cast and crew.

The campaign will give us the funds to create the pilot episode. Our goal is to have a festival run followed by the pilot episode being released online after the run has completed.

Our number one priority is the safety of our cast and crew. To ensure everyone stays healthy, we may need to provide testing for the cast and crew on our own. The longer we shoot, the more it costs. We need extra precautionary room in our budget to cover costs should COVID cause us to shut down. Every dollar pledged will go towards our production, and any extra money unused for COVID precautions will be allocated right back into any of the other production essentials previously mentioned.

What’s the Rule? takes influences in its story from films such as The Edge of Seventeen (2016), Booksmart (2019), and Keep the Change (2018), as well as television shows like Speechless (2016), Never Have I Ever (2020), and more.

We are all so excited to work with you to bring this story of neurodiversity and acceptance to life.