The Autism Scene is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 AuSPEC AWARDS Kids Animation Spec Script Competition!

1. Riley Roper
Winner: Funniest Script
for We Baby Bears: “Bears in Bull Ridge”
The baby bears are taken to the Western town of Bull Ridge, where they meet the aspiring hero, Clifton Calf, who happens to be on the autistic spectrum, and they help him save the town.

2. Josh Brown
Winner: Best Preschool Script
for Bluey: “The Ice Maker”
An autistic friend comes over to watch the footy game with Bandit. The girls play a dancing game and learn about the alternative communication style Bandit's friend uses.

3. Lio Guevara
Winner: Best Adventure Script
for Avatar the Last Airbender: “Keeping Cool”
While attempting to make their way through the Fire Kingdom undetected, Team Avatar’s true identities are discovered by a powerful fire bender who is on the autism spectrum, and they subvert the team’s expectations by showing them how to keep their cool when things get overwhelming.

4. Adrian Golden
Winner: Best Educational Script
for Rosie’s Rules: “Rosie’s New Neighbor”
Rosie Fuentes has a new neighbor, Noah Everett, and wants to be friends. She tries many attempts to introduce herself, but with little success, as she is overly excited. With help from Noah's mother, Rosie learns about Noah's autism and tries to take a more calm and sensitive approach.

2. D.G. Thompson
Winner: Best Superhero Script
for My Adventures With Superman: “A (Neuro)Divergent Path”
An autistic engineer tries to warn Superman about a sinister plot against him and gets swept up into the escalating conflict in a world that makes them both feel unwelcome.

3. Austin Oguri
Winner: Best Scary Script
for Chibiverse: “A Case of the Butterflies”
When Star Butterfly gets trapped in a mysterious place, she meets a new autistic friend whose unique talents may help the two figure out what’s really going on.

4. Mya Stark
Winner: Best Nonspeaking Character
for Frog and Toad: “Whippoorwill”
Toad babysits Robin's autistic cousin Whippoorwill and tries every trick to entertain her—until Frog shows him how to follow her quiet way of exploring the world.

5. Madeline Diemer
Winner: Best Use of an AAC Device
for Bluey: “Devices”
Bingo learns a new form of communication often associated with people on the autistic spectrum to make a friend.

6. Samantha Spiegel
Winner: Kindest Script
for Big City Greens: “The Chameleon”
When Cricket and Tilly Green meet June, a new girl who carefully masks her autism to fit in, a chaotic trip to the farmers market pushes June into sensory overload, teaching them that real friendship doesn’t require blending in.

7. Chloe Sarosdy
Winner: Best Musical Script
for Phineas and Ferb: “Heard of the Cards”
After a new autistic friend introduces them to the trading card game Battle Cards, Phineas and Ferb use nanotech to bring the cards to life!

8. Madison Trembley
Winner: Cutest Script
for Carl the Collector: “The Dragon of Fuzzytown”
Nico and Forrest must take pictures of trees for Carl's Fuzzytown Tree Picture collection, but Luna, their new autistic friend, needs their help, too.

9. Jeremy Fuscaldo
Winner: Best New Character
for My Adventures with Superman: “Up Up and Away”
New to Metropolis, a young boy on the autistic spectrum must face the trauma weighing on him before he can learn to fly like Superman. Just as life bogs down, his favorite hero swoops in to offer a much needed boost.

10. Kade Allen
Winner: Best Explanation of Autism
for Bluey: “Sharks N' Minnows”
Bluey and her classmates prepare for a field trip to the aquarium, while a new student on the autistic spectrum teaches them all how to play in new ways.

11. Corvin Kevlihan
Winner: Best Card Battle Script
for The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball: “The Challenge”
When a new kid on the autistic spectrum easily defeats Gumball in a game of Little Pet Fight Club, Gumball vows to beat the kid in their next game, no matter what it takes.

15. Ari Donnelly
Winner: Best Friendship Script
for Kiff: “Pros at Cons”
Kiff and Barry are hyped to attend Table Town Comic Con, only to discover the greatest foe their boredom has ever faced: a super long line. Their day is saved by a new autistic friend they meet during their infinite wait.

16. Michael Flood
Winner: Best Sci-Fi Script
for Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures: “Jedi Jitters”
A self-doubting Youngling who struggles in Jedi training, because of his autism, must rely on his unique way of processing the Force--and the support of his friends--when a droid-building phenom threatens the Jedi Archives.

17. Maggie Scudder
Best Script by an Unrepresented Writer
for Phineas & Ferb: “Cat Fight”
Phineas and Ferb build a life-size card-battle arena for Isabella’s visiting autistic cousin Maya, but when Doofenshmirtz unleashes a pet-adoption ray at the town’s pet fair, one humble card, “Just A Cat,” helps Maya become the unlikely hero.

18. Melinda Layden & Chris Page
Winner: Grand Prize
for Big City Greens: “Herding Cats”
When a cat-napper steals the neighbor's cat, Tilly and Cricket help a new, resourceful, autistic friend track him down.

The Autism Scene is dedicated to promoting the creation and inclusion of explicitly autistic characters in kids pop culture

The Autism Scene is holding a kids animated series spec script competition, culminating in the AuSPEC AWARDS ceremony on April 30, 2026 at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios Hillenburg Theater. Category winners will win meetings with animation executives, showrunners, and/or managers, including from agencies like Gersh, management companies like Gotham and Verve, and kids animated shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lego Friends, Hello Kitty, Monster High, and more! The AuSPEC AWARDS will culminate in a Grand Prize of $5,000. Each script should be an episode of a recent animated show, and have at least one series regular meaningfully interacting with an explicitly autistic character. Autistic characters should be in every type of show — comedy, drama, sci-fi, romance, YA, fantasy, everything! — and the AuSPEC AWARDS will show the industry how it’s done!

press release

The Autism Scene is pleased to invite you to submit to the 2026 AuSPEC SCRIPT COMPETITION. We are looking for submissions of spec scripts for existing kids animation shows. The only expectation is that each script will include a series regular meaningfully interacting with an explicitly autistic character. A great submission will feel like it could be a real episode of the animated show you choose — in tone, characterization and format.
For the money and prizes! Each category winner will get a meeting with an executive, manager, agent or showrunner who has read their script. These will include folks from Gersh, Nickelodeon, The Gotham Group, etc. We will do our best to match the winners with an appropriate meeting. AND ALSO— We will hold an AuSPEC AWARDS Ceremony where three scripts will have a staged reading with professional Hollywood VO talent, which should be pretty cool. And the grand prize winner will be awarded $5,000! Sweet!
Any human person, really. We hope this will provide an opportunity for people new to animation to get an introduction, and to help working animation writers get to the next level. The awarding team is comprised of television animation show runners, writers, executives and autism consultants.
An average kids television animation script will be for an 11-minute segment. Well-known shows or shows currently in production are more likely to help your ideas and writing come across quickly and clearly in a competition like this. All submissions should include the following:
- A log line or brief summary of the episode
- A sentence about the autistic character, and
- A pdf of your script submission.
- A $25 submission fee.
Please DO NOT include your name on your script or in the title of the PDF, to help us be as unbiased as possible.
Once the competition opens to submissions in December 2025, you will be able to submit through the button below. And if you have any trouble with that, you can always email us at AuSPEC2026@TheAutismScene.org.
The submission fee can be covered by making a $25 donation to The Autism Scene, which you can make by following the submission button below. Funds raised will be used to defray costs of running the competition.
The submission period will open December 1, 2025. Entries are due by March 2, 2026. The awards will be announced on Thursday April 30, 2026.
Prize Categories
- Grand Prize
- Best preschool script
- Best kids animation (@ages 8-11) script
- Best musical script
- Funniest script
- Spookiest script
- Cutest script
- Kindest script
- Best sci-fi script
- Best adventure script
- Best educational script
- Best nonspeaking/nonverbal character
- Best use of AAC device
- Best explanation of autism
- Best script by unrepresented writer
- And more!

FAQ, Submission form and more!

Authentically Creating Autistic Characters

Autism is historically underrepresented in pop culture. With increasing rates of autism (the CDC currently estimates 1 in 31), there is an increasing demand for autistic characters in our pop culture from both executives and audiences. But for the creatives in the middle, especially the neurotypical ones, it can feel like a daunting challenge. How can I fit an autistic character in my goofy animated show? Autistic people are in our world, so whether it’s a YA fantasy graphic novel, a family sitcom, a high-octane hospital drama, a post-apocalyptic zombie comic, or whatever -- authentic autistic characters belong there, too. The Autism Scene aims to gather autistic and neurotypical creators to successfully add autistic characters to pop culture, and how you can too!

About Us

If you’re writing an autistic character, its important to get to know some autistic people if you don’t already, beyond what you see through pop culture. Some of our nonspeaking friends have lent their voices to The Autism Scene through their blogs:

Advisory Group Member Alfonso Camacho’s Autism and Other Endeavors of the Heart

Friend of The Autism Scene Zora Oginar’s Being Zora

Zora’s friends at the Mouth to Hand Learning Center

Authenticity Consultants

It has become standard practice for a studio to engage an autism consultant if they are producing a show with an autistic character. And it’s generally a good idea for professional writers working on their own! Some autism consultants who have worked on Hollywood studio projects:

Dr. Kerry Magro, Ed.D, CAS, is a full-time professional speaker, best-selling author, and autism consultant for major film and television projects including Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum U.S., Warner Bros.’ Joyful Noise, and the The Present. As a writer, he contributed to PBS Kids’ Carl the Collector and has authored several books, including Supporting Your Autism Journey and Autistics on Autism. Kerry has been featured in national outlets such as NBC’s Today Show, CBS News, and The New York Times. He has provided autism sensitivity training for directors and crews on multiple projects. He received a credit Ezra (starring Robert DeNiro) and was paid to consult on several episodes of HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher. In addition to giving over 1,400 talks worldwide on inclusion and disability awareness, Kerry is also returning to his first love - acting. He has performed in more than 20 stage productions and recently auditioned for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia (starring Emma Stone) and Apple TV’s Radical. His unique perspective bridges advocacy, consulting, and performance to create a stronger platform for meaningful representation of autism in the media. You can contact Kerry at Kerrymagro.com/contact

Dr. Desi Jones is a neurodivergent psychologist and autism researcher whose work focuses on how autistic people experience and navigate everyday social interactions. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, where she directs the SHINE Lab and studies peer attitudes, social interactions, and mental health among autistic adolescents and adults, with special attention to how race and gender shape these experiences. Dr. Jones’ research is centered on capturing authentic, real-world perspectives from autistic people themselves, making her well suited to support writers and producers who want to create thoughtful, accurate, and multidimensional autistic characters. You can contact Desi at desi-jones.weebly.com/contact-us.html.

Daniel Share-Strom is an Autistic professional screenwriter, children’s book author, creative consultant, and registered social worker. He co-created and wrote for the autistic character Bruno for the kids animated show Thomas and Friends: All Engines Go! Daniel is also the author of the picture book Do You Want to Play? Making Friends with an Autistic Kid. You can contact Daniel at danielsharestrom.com/contact-me.

Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt is an Emmy Award-nominated writer, consultant, actress, and public speaker. As a Chinese, Jewish, neurodiverse, transracial adoptee, Ava shares her lived experiences in a way that’s easily understandable and entertaining for a wide audience. Currently, she's working on an unreleased APPLE TV feature film. Ava's episode, "The Fall," on the PBS KIDS show, CARL THE COLLECTOR, is Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Series! She's written and consulted on scripts for 9Story Media (BLUE’S CLUES, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD), Apple TV (CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH), and Disney (THE GHOST AND MOLLY MCCGEE). Ava received a Drama Desk Special Award for Authentic Autistic Representation, recognizing her accessibility work as the Creative Consultant for the Broadway coming of age musical, HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO (follows seven autistic young adults at a social skills center as they prepare for a dance. Broadway 2023/West End 2025). As an often called upon public speaker and panelist, Ava shares best practices working with the neurodiverse community, creating authentic characters, tools for producing accessible events, and how her own identity breaks stereotypes! Highlights: Disney, Netflix, The New York Times, Sundance, Television Critics Association. You can contact Ava at linkedin.com/in/ava-x-r-59a7a5126.

Alex Plank is a trailblazing autistic self-advocate and a pioneering leader in the autistic human rights. As an associate producer of the critically acclaimed movie “Ezra,” Alex has made significant strides in both behind-the-scenes and on-camera roles. He is a champion of authentic and humanistic representation of autistic individuals in the film industry. With a deep commitment to challenging ableism, Alex advocates for a world where autistic people are valued and respected. This commitment extends to a broader condemnation of ableism in all its forms, with a specific focus on dismantling the barriers within the film industry that marginalize autistic talent and narratives.You can contact Alex at alexplank.com/contact.html.

Upcoming Events

Click here to find out more about the 2026 AuSPEC AWARDS!

The period for submissions ended on March 2, 2026, and the awards ceremony will be held on April 30, 2026 at the Nickeloedeon Animation Studios Hillenburg Theater in Burbank, CA!