Hi there! My name is Katie Manzer, and I'm the creator of Typical Tilly, an early-learning kids' show intended for children with social-emotional and sensory processing disorders. The show is an extension of my master's final project, where I researched kids' TV series with significant neurodiverse fan bases, and determined their educational benefits for emotional, social, and sensory processing difficulties. Typical Tilly will address these issues more intentionally, tailoring stories to the experiences of children with these neurotypes to encourage better means of problem-solving, emotional regulation, and sensory harmony.

Research shows that children with ASD, ADHD, OCD, and SPD spend more time consuming media than other children, so I hope that this show can put education at the forefront of its stories, all the while providing these kids with aesthetics and entertainment that they can appreciate. The show will also help parents to better understand their children and become better equipped to help them with the problems they face.

This production is based in Toronto, ON, Canada and will be shooting in mid-December. For this fundraiser, my production team and I are looking for a donation of $1200 to cover all basic production costs of filming, providing food services, and covering travel expenses. Any extra money will be used to compensate performers and technicians, as they are currently volunteering. The whole production will otherwise be funded out of pocket, with handcrafted puppets and props, at-home VFX, and student benefits.

This pilot is going to be used as a proof-of-concept pitch to be developed further in the future. Ideally, this episode will demonstrate the aesthetic and educational vision of the series if it were to be produced at a larger scale, whether for television or online, and can open up doors for the discussion of educational entertainment for all different types of audiences.

Donors will receive production updates, BTS footage & photos, as well as access to an early screening of the completed project. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated, as is sharing the page among your peers. Thank you so much for your interest in Typical Tilly, and I look forward to your getting to meet Tilly soon.