KIDS LIKE ME Impact Campaign
An empowering journey to reframe disability through screenings, participatory storytelling, and educational resources to help communities empower children with disabilities to be leaders and shift public perceptions about disabled kids.
Through creative play, advocacy, and connection, we can build agency, confidence, and motivate audiences to dismantle barriers to equity.
The Landscape of Disability Representation
The Current Landscape
Young people with disabilities remain significantly underrepresented in children's media, typically cast as side characters rather than the authors of their own stories.
1.2 % Characters
in new TV programming for children have a disability.
0.5% Screenwriters
who identify as disabled were hired for screenwriting jobs in 2020
1M+ Students
rely on school-based accommodations under Section 504 or IDEA

Access Challenges & Urgent Advocacy
Millions of students with disabilities depend on accommodations like Section 504 or IDEA for public education access. While both Section 504 and IDEA are federal policies, they are enacted on a local level. Specific state and community policies can have a big impact on how these programs are administered and what a school can actually deliver. Oliver’s home state of Massachusetts consistently ranks highly on the type of services it provides to students with disabilities, but this can be considered the exception and not the rule.
As of January 2026, nine states continue to challenge Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the integration mandate that allows disabled people to receive services in their communities, making this a particularly urgent moment for advocacy. A rescinding of Section 504 would mean millions of young people like Oliver could be denied necessary accommodations that make it possible for them to access public education.
The Need & Opportunity
Underrepresentation & Lack of Reflection
Children with disabilities are severely underrepresented in children's media, often relegated to minor roles.
Only 1 in 5 characters with a disability were authentically cast by actors with the same (or similar) disability.
Access Challenges & Urgent Advocacy
Millions of students with disabilities depend on accommodations like Section 504 or IDEA for public education access.
At the same time, Section 504 protections are currently being challenged in several states making this a particularly urgent moment for advocacy.
Benefits of Creative Play & Empowerment
Creative play and role-play boost executive function, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. Storytelling fosters identity formation in early adolescence, and accessible play environments improve peer integration. Empowering disabled children to create fosters agency, confidence, and community.
The Opportunity to Transform
By bringing KIDS LIKE ME to communities, schools, libraries and policy spaces, alongside participatory programming rooted in creative play, we can champion young people with disabilities to create and lead, shift perceptions about disabled people, and equip families, peers and educators with tools to foster inclusion, and strengthen advocacy for disability rights. We are developing programming around KIDS LIKE ME and “The Game is Murder” to:
Champion Creators
Model inclusivity in media and arts
Share Resources
Foster connection and conversations about equity
Amplify Advocacy
Support accessibility rights efforts
Audiences
Primary Audiences
Children and teens with disabilities (K–12) and their non-disabled peers
Families of children with disabilities, especially parents and siblings
Public libraries and K–12 educators and staff
Policymakers in states, especially where 504 is in jeopardy, and local disability advocates
Secondary Audiences
Healthcare & Social Services
Doctors, rehabilitation professionals, social workers, and organizations supporting children with disabilities
Affinity Communities
Mystery book clubs, crime writers' organizations, and role-playing groups
Hyper-Local
Audiences in the Pioneer Valley and Massachusetts
Meet Oliver
A 12-year-old auteur with boundless imagination
In KIDS LIKE ME, audiences witness Oliver exuberantly embrace the role of an auteur—writing, directing, and starring in his own murder-mystery film. His creative excitement is contagious, and it is this agency that drives the film’s impact campaign.
"The Game Is Murder" - Oliver's film
A core component of the KIDS LIKE ME campaign is Oliver's suspense-mystery short film, "The Game Is Murder."
At 15-minutes, the short (parts of which appears in the documentary) is perfectly situated for pre-teen and teen audiences in schools, educational and recreational settings. It's a fun entry point to talk about accessibility in media by modeling a work created by and featuring a young person with disabilities around a story they wanted to tell. The film will also have open captions and audio descriptions so all students can access it.
"The Game is Murder" will be made available on a range of platforms open to young people so that they can find and share it in their digital spaces and communities with the notion that creativity is contagious!

The film will also have open captions and audio descriptions so all students can access it.
Impact Theory: From Screen to Community
This campaign moves beyond passive viewing to participatory programming that transforms how children see themselves and shifts community understanding.
Community & Policy Screenings
Libraries, museums, children's hospitals, vocational rehab centers, and legislative spaces
Participatory Storytelling
TTRPGs, book clubs, and creative workshops led by creators with disabilities
Educational Resources
Toolkits, discussion guides, and family resources for educators and advocates
When young people with disabilities are empowered to create, lead, and imagine—rather than adapt—they build agency, confidence, and community.
Building Community Through Shared Screening
The KIDS LIKE ME impact campaign will connect directly with spaces where children learn, play, and discover their voice. Community screenings will become spaces to amplify creators with disabilities and share tools for inclusion.
Locations for impact include:
K–12 Schools
Reaching disabled children, siblings, and peers with screenings and creative play curricula
Libraries
Hand-in-Hand partnerships with authors and disability advocates for community events
Museums
Collaboration with children's and science museums for inclusive programming
Children's Hospitals
Screenings and workshops supporting patients and families during critical moments
Capitol Hill & State House Screenings in Key States
In states where 504 is in jeopardy and other locations as identified in collaboration with
partners like DREDF
Policy Screenings
In partnership with the Disability Rights Education Defense Fund (DREDF) and other advocacy organizations, we will identify opportunities for policy screenings:
Capitol Hill
Educating policymakers in states where Section 504 is under attack
Local Communities
Matchmaking screenings with local disability advocacy leaders, reaching rural, urban, and low-income districts

At all policy-focused screenings we will emphasize how federal policies like Section 504 have local impact, and refer audiences to the asks of disability-led advocacy efforts.
Participatory Storytelling
"The Game is Murder" Tabletop Role Playing Game
Developed in collaboration with Access: Horror Film Festival, this tabletop role-playing game draws inspiration from Oliver's murder-mystery film. TTRPGs (Tabletop Role Playing Games) are collaborative storytelling at their core—a fun, accessible way to connect through creative play. The game will be available as a free digital handbook and provides a compelling point of entry for pre-teens and teens.
At community events and beyond, the campaign incorporates activities that invite audiences to imagine and create stories of their own.
What is a TTRPG?
A tabletop role playing game (TTRPG) is basically a game of “make-believe” working within a set of given circumstances and dice to randomize certain outcomes (Think Dungeons and Dragons or Magic the Gathering). Another way to think of it is sitting around a table and telling a story with a group of people. TTRPGs are NOT boardgames, but they can involve dice and a rule-book or other reference materials, and are usually led by one player who keeps the story moving along.

Why is a TTRPG right for this film?
A TTRPGs gives players the opportunity to step into a world shaped by access, assumptions, and power — and try to navigate it. This can make people confront barriers and biases from a new perspective, encouraging embodied understanding with greater personal and emotional investment. TTRPGs can be played just about any way. Despite the name, you don’t even really need a tabletop. Sometimes you don’t even have to be in the same location! Many use apps like Discord or Zoom to play TTRPGs remotely when getting together in person isn’t an option. Modes of game-play can be adapted to accommodate many access needs without compromising the integrity and fun of the exercise. Kids can play with peers, family, or just about anybody. (And as a bonus, Oliver loves to play them!)
Participatory Storytelling
Oliver's Book Club
At the center of KIDS LIKE ME is Oliver's love of books. Oliver's Book Club is a reading list curated by Oliver featuring his favorite mystery books, designed to be shared with youth librarians at public libraries. Libraries and teen centers can offer it as a standalone display, a monthly book club, or a complement to screenings with community partners.

How Libraries Can Use It
  • Standalone display of mystery books
  • Monthly book club programming
  • Complement to film screenings
  • Teen center reading groups
Participatory Storytelling
Hand-in-Hand with Libraries
In partnership with authors, disability advocates, and influencer Keah Brown, this initiative spotlights storytellers with disabilities through curated author talks, readings, and live discussions. Libraries host in-person events and amplify them through social media and recorded content, inviting audiences of all ages to engage with diverse voices and lived experience.

Storyteller Spotlight
In partnership with authors and influencers like Keah Brown (IG: @keah_maria), this initiative highlights storytellers with disabilities through curated author talks, readings, and live
Reach Through Communities
The KIDS LIKE ME impact campaign will connect directly with spaces where children learn, play, and discover their voices—amplifying creators with disabilities and building tools for inclusion.
K–12 Schools
Reaching disabled children, siblings, and peers with screenings and creative play curricula
Families
Parent and sibling resources fostering conversations about equity and accessibility
Children's Hospitals
Screenings and workshops supporting patients and families during critical moments
Libraries
Hand-in-Hand partnerships with authors and disability advocates for community events
Museums
Collaboration with children's and science museums for inclusive programming
Advocacy Community
Policy screenings educating legislators and supporting Section 504 advocacy
Educational Resources & Toolkits
Educational materials developed with campaign partners will offer complementary resources, information, and discussion prompts to support programming:
Discussion Guide
For general audiences attending screenings and events
Family Toolkit
Materials specifically designed for siblings and parents
Professional Toolkit
For educators, social workers and medical professionals working with disabled children and teens

Resources Designed to Foster Inclusion
Each toolkit provides complementary resources, information, and discussion prompts tailored to its audience—families navigating disability together, educators creating equitable classrooms or professionals supporting youth with disabilities.
These materials extend the impact of KIDS LIKE ME beyond the screen, equipping communities with practical tools for advocacy and connection.
Calls To Action After Watching KIDS LIKE ME
For Young People
  • Get a group together to play “The Game is Murder” TTRPG. This can be a “one-shot” game night or an ongoing campaign
  • Start an “Oliver’s Book Club” in-person or online
  • Learn more about disabled writers, filmmakers, and creators and brainstorm your own creative project!
For Parents:
  • Start a family game night to play “The Game is Murder” TTRPG together, or help your kid set up a game night with their peers
  • Use the film and our resources to make your community more equitable and accessible
  • Use our resources to learn more about local and federal policies that affect your child and family and connect with advocates and organisations
  • Download our toolkits including know your rights sheets, letter templates and other materials to help you advocate for your child
For Professionals:
  • Incorporate the work of disabled creatives into your lesson plans and school or professional environment
  • Use our accessibility inventory checklist to evaluate your school or workplace - what barriers exist for kids and adults with disabilities to fully participate? Organize with your colleagues to make the space more accessible
  • Amplify accessibility and disability rights advocacy efforts: Connect with local disabled advocacy organizations to learn about steps you can take to support their efforts and make your community and workplace more equitable and accessible
Outcomes & Evaluation
The campaign will track both reach and depth of engagement. Target metrics include:
200+
Community Screenings
In Year 1 across several states
25
Library System Partnerships
Secured for programming
20
Healthcare Centers and Affinity Communities
Secured for programming
12+
Policy Screenings
For legislators and advocates
10
Impact Partners
Strategic partners directly engaged with target audiences
500
TTRPG Handbooks
Distributed to communities
5K
Toolkits & Guides
Distributed to educators and families
40K
Total Audience Reached
In year 1 (in-person and digital)

Evaluation Methods
Pre/post audience surveys at screenings, partner feedback forms, toolkit download tracking, social media and website traffic tracking, qualitative interviews with participating families and educators.
Timeline
Outline for 18-month program
1
Phase 1
Jan-May, 2026
Confirm partnerships, develop TTRPG and educational toolkits & materials
2
Phase 2
June - Sept. 2026
Festival premiere, launch community screenings in select cities, launch library program, distribute educational materials
3
Phase 3
Oct. 2026- April 2027
Policy screenings, Hand-in-Hand library events, national expansion
4
Phase 4
May - June 2027
Evaluation, impact report, long-term distribution strategy
Partnerships & Team
We are in conversation with several potential and confirmed partners including
FWD-Doc
National documentary impact organization
Disability Rights Education Defense Fund (DREDF)
ReelAbilities Film Festival
Disability-focused film festival
Access: Horror Film Festival
Programming partner for TTRPG development and festival engagement
Keah Brown
Author, disability advocate, and influencer (Hand-in-Hand with Libraries)
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
Inevitable Foundation
1in4 Coalition
Prospective Institutional Partners
We are seeking programming partnerships with the American Library Association and the Association of Children's museums, as well as children's museums, library systems, and children's hospitals in select cities like Austin, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and others to be determined.
We have engaged Access: Horror Film Festival as a programming partner to support festival engagement and material development.
Building a Movement
Empowering children with disabilities as creators and protagonists
The KIDS LIKE ME impact campaign brings together screenings, participatory storytelling, educational resources and policy advocacy to shift how children with disabilities see themselves and how their communities empower them. Through creative play, representation, and connection, we're building agency, confidence and lasting change.
Campaign Team and Consultants
Eliza Licht, Javier Rivera DeBruin
Red Owl Partners
Jim LeBrecht
Co-founder of FWD-Doc, Co-director of CRIP CAMP
Cynthia Lowen
Director/Producer, KIDS LIKE ME
Rosemary McDonnell-Horitas
Impact producer and disability inclusion consultant
Ariel Baska
Disability consultant and founder Access:Horror Film Festival
Jon Cohrs
Director/Producer, KIDS LIKE ME
For more information, contact:
Eliza Licht, Red Owl Partners
eliza@redowlpartners.com
Cynthia Lowen, Film Director
cynthia.lowen@gmail.com