![]() This was a very difficult period for Sam’s family, but banding together to help Noah only made them closer and stronger. With the help of his family, a therapist and some new friends, Sam’s brother finally was able to attend school full-time. Sam’s younger brother, Noah, has social anxiety disorder and had a hard time transitioning to middle school because of it. ![]() How did you draw upon your personal experiences to create this series? Read more from our interview with Erica and Sam below the trailer.ġ. “Not only did they give us helpful notes on scripts to make sure we were representing Amara accurately, the people at RespectAbility were kind enough to share their own experiences and anecdotes to include in our scripts.” “Working with RespectAbility has been an incredibly eye-opening experience,” said Spates and Littenberg-Weisberg. RespectAbility worked closely with the show on the character of Amara. ![]() Nothing about her disability ever hindered production in any way.” There was never a moment where Sophie didn’t show up to set ready to slay her scene. “We understand the power of seeing yourself represented in media and that the more you see it, the more it can become commonplace… was one of the best decisions we made making this show. “Representation is very important to us, as well as to Netflix,” said Spates and Littenberg-Weisberg. The production team committed early on to finding a young actress who uses a wheelchair, holding a nationwide search to find Sophie, and then adapting the role to her real-life experiences. Amara, however, is played by Sophie Kim, an eleven-year-old with muscular dystrophy who has used a wheelchair since she was four years old. Ninety-five percent of characters with disabilities are played by actors without those disabilities. We decided this could be a great opportunity to show kids and families the struggles people face on both sides, as well as challenge some of the prejudices and misconceptions people have.” “There are disabilities you can see, like someone in a wheelchair, and those you might never know about, like anxiety. The character of Amara is “fearless to help push Noah outside his comfort zone,” said Spates and Littenberg-Weisberg. In addition to the character of Noah, his best friend Amara uses a wheelchair. Eighteen percent of adults and eight percent of children in the U.S. Although general anxiety is classified as normal, anxiety disorders are more difficult to cope with. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), anxiety is classified as the most common health disorder in the U.S. Spates and Littenberg-Weisberg created The Healing Powers of Dude based off of true events in Sam’s family, allowing viewers to have the unique opportunity to experience what life is like for Noah as he goes through his daily activities. ![]() “The more families and friends can talk about this issue, the better the chance people can get the help they need,” creators Erica Spates and Sam Littenberg-Weisberg told RespectAbility. Its creators have lofty but achievable goals – to give kids who have anxiety a vehicle to tell their parents how they feel and to “overcome the stigma of talking about mental illness.” The Healing Powers of Dude, a family comedy about Noah (Jace Chapman), a middle schooler with social anxiety disorder, premieres on Netflix. A new show premiering today is bucking that trend. today, the lack of representation – just 3.1 percent on screen and even less in children’s television (less than one percent) – means that millions of people are unable to see themselves in media today. ![]() 13 – With one-in-five people having a disability in the U.S. Amara (Sophie Kim), Noah (Jace Chapman) and Simon (Mauricio Lara) ![]()
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