Thomas the Tank Engine has been a popular character within the autism community. Now a new train will be joining called Bruno; an autistic brake car. The voice actor will also be played by Chuck Smith, a 10-year-old autistic actor. Will you be tuning in? ‘Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go‘ airs on Cartoon Network. Check your local listings for the new season!
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen children’s characters who are on the autism spectrum. I blogged about PBS Kids featuring an autistic character on Daniel Tiger and before that I had the opportunity to chat with Christine Ferraro, Co-Creator and Head Writer of Hero Elementary who feature AJ Gadgets, an autistic superhero on their show. You can watch the interview I did with Christine above.
I applaud the team behind Thomas & Friends for their work in this way as I’m an autism entertainment consultant who understands the true importance of representation. Growing up with autism, the only entertainment projects I knew about that featured an autistic character included Rain Man. I’m glad more of the spectrum is now getting to be spotlighted. You can learn more about my work as an autism consultant here on projects such as Joyful Noise, Jane Wants A Boyfriend, Mrs. Fletcher , Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum and how I can help you with your next project by contacting me here.
It’s also helpful to have representation in projects that are for younger children because, if we can educate our loved ones about autism at an early age hopefully they will be more understanding and accepting of autistic individuals for their entire lives. That’s a big reason why I wrote a children’s book about twins on the autism spectrum that you can learn more about here.
Would you like me to speak virtually or in person with your school or business? Contact me here for more details.
Follow my journey on Facebook, my Facebook Fan Page, & Instagram!
My name is Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum that started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help support me so I can continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
Follow my journey on Facebook, my Facebook Fan Page, & Instagram!
My name is Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum that started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue a post-secondary education. Help support me so I can continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
