'Dustbin Baby' nominated for Emmy award

'Dustbin Baby' nominated for Emmy award

Article from The National Autistic Society

Dustbin Baby, a BBC drama featuring a teenager with Asperger syndrome, has been nominated for an International Emmy Award.

Adapted from the novel by Jacqueline Wilson, Dustbin Baby starred 14-year-old Lizzy Clarke, who was the first actress ever to play the part of someone with Asperger syndrome on TV while actually having the condition herself. Lizzy performed alongside Juliet Stevenson and Dakota Blue Richards.

Dustbin Baby told the story of teenager April (played by Dakota Blue Richards) who sets out to discover where she came from and, along the way, discovers where she belongs, having been abandoned in a dustbin as a baby. April goes back to the world she left behind - one of foster and care homes - and remembers and revisits the people who shaped her life, including the character played by Lizzy.

The 37th International Emmy Awards will take place Monday, November 23, 2009 in New York, hosted by Graham Norton. Dustbin Baby is nominated in the Children and Young people category - we'll let you know if they take home the award on the night.

The original source for this article was on the National Autistic Society website - http://www.autism.org.uk/ - but, due to the site being rebuilt recently, a direct link to the article is currently unavailable.

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This post is a follow up to my other recent posts which can be found here:

http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/07/mother-of-british-teen-actress-with.html
http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/07/dream-comes-true-for-lizzy.html
http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/07/fame-for-actress-with-asperger-syndrome.html

Robert Mann BA (Hons)

Mother of British teen actress with Asperger's says disabled actors should play disabled characters

Mother of British teen actress with Asperger's says disabled actors should play disabled characters

Article from The Observer - November 15, 2009

By AMELIA HILL

The mother of the first actress with Asperger's syndrome to play a fictional character with the condition has launched a campaign to stop actors "playing disabled".

Lizzy Clark (pictured) was 14 when the BBC asked her to play the part of Poppy, a teenage girl with Asperger's, in the television film Dustbin Baby, starring Dakota Blue Richards and Juliet Stevenson. Based on Jacqueline Wilson's novel of the same name, the film has been shortlisted for an International Emmy, a British Academy children's award and the Bafta Kids' Vote awards. The award ceremonies will take place next week.

Lizzy's mother, Nicola Clark, has said that employing actors who are not mentally disabled to play characters with neurological impairments should stop. It is the "blacking-up of the 21st century", she said. "We need to break down these barriers. They're unacceptable and indefensible in a modern-day society, especially when there are so many good, disabled actors who are both ready, eager and able to take on these parts."

Lizzy, who had never acted professionally before her part in Dustbin Baby, said: "My Asperger's made some things on the film set difficult at first, like dealing with the sudden noise of the storyboard, but I was soon so focused on acting that I didn't notice anything else.

"It is not just mentally disabled actors who lose out when non-disabled people are employed to act them. Audiences think they are getting an authentic portrayal of a mentally disabled person, but they're not. It's not like putting on a different accent or learning what it was like to be raised in a different era. You can't understand what it is like to have a mental disability unless you've really lived with it. When non-disabled people try to portray us, they tend to fall back on stereotypes that have done our community so much harm in the past."

According to Independent Television Commission research, 79% of viewers would not mind if a disabled person read the evening news. Six in 10 say that disabled people should appear in a wider variety of roles, including as presenters. There are, however, signs that the tide is slowly turning in favour of Clark's "Don't play me – pay me!" campaign. EastEnders recently introduced David Proud, who was born with spina bifida, as Adam Best, the first character in the show to use a wheelchair in real life.

The move is part of a series of measures by the BBC intended to raise the profile of disabled actors and performers. Next week it will start a nationwide search for disabled actors and performers for drama, comedy and children's shows. It will also launch an online directory of disabled talent, with the support of the acting union Equity and Spotlight, the casting directory. "Innovations like this are promising, but I would question whether disabled actors will be used in greater numbers simply because their contact details have been made easier for directors and producers to find," said Clark. "Society regards people with mental disabilities with such extreme stigma, and attributes them with such insulting and misleading stereotypes, that most casting directors would not even consider employing someone with a mental disability."

Clark is setting up a forum for all mentally disabled actors, where they can be encouraged and supported. The forum will also generate publicity through public events and debates.

In another sign that Clark has launched her campaign at a turning point, Channel 4 will next week launch Cast Offs, a comedy drama about the making of a Survivor-type reality TV programme featuring physically disabled characters. Created by Jack Thorne, who has written for Shameless and Skins, Tony Roche, who has written for The Thick Of It, and Alex Bulmer, the programme features thalidomide victims, dwarfism and the face-disfiguring cherubism, a rare genetic disorder.

Clark wants to see a similar commitment to how mental disability is portrayed. "At the moment mentally disabled actors only appear on our screens in plot lines revolving entirely around their disability, and generally only in scenarios where they need to be rescued from something to do with their disability by a non-disabled protagonist… We want to see disabled actors playing parts where the least interesting thing about them is their disability."

Clark expects a long battle. She points to the decision by the British Board of Film Classification to warn viewers that the comedy Special People featured disabled people. "Giving the film a 'disability theme', as though we have to be warned away from disabled people, was bizarre," said the film's director, Justin Edgar.


© Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

The original source(s) for this article can be found here:
http://media-dis-n-dat.blogspot.com/2009/11/mother-of-british-teen-actress-with.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/15/disabled-actors-television-campaign

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This post is a follow up to my other recent posts which can be found here:
http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/07/dream-comes-true-for-lizzy.html
http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/07/fame-for-actress-with-asperger-syndrome.html

Robert Mann BA (Hons)

Dream comes true for Lizzy

Dream comes true for Lizzy

Article from Shrewsbury Chronicle - September 18, 2008

A 14-year-old autistic girl from Shrewsbury is trailblazing the way for other sufferers after winning the role of a character with the condition in a television adaptation of a popular children’s book.

Lizzy Clark, from Copthorne, has always wanted to act, but after being bullied at school lost her confidence. She is now over the moon after being selected for a part in a television adaptation of a Jacqueline Wilson novel, Dustbin Baby, which starts filming tomorrow.

Nicky Clark, Lizzy’s mum, discovered the opportunity on the national autism website which she browses regularly because both Lizzy and her sister Emily, 11, suffer from autism which is a brain development disorder.

“We saw the audition on the website and they were looking for a girl between 12 and 15,” she said.

“Lizzy had never done a professional audition before so I made a short film raising awareness of autism and I sent a link through to the director. We had a call and she was invited to London. She didn’t think she’d done very well and was really nervous about it, but I thought she’d done fantastically well.

“They said they were delighted with her, it’s really exciting and great for Lizzy. She’s always wanted to act but has been bullied at school and lost her confidence.

“It’s a UK first that someone with autism is actually playing someone with autism, it’s such a fantastic outcome and it’s very good for her self-esteem.”

A spokesperson for Adcote School where Lizzy goes said: “We’re all really pleased she’s been given the part, we’re all thrilled for her and think it’s very good they’ve chosen someone like Lizzy.”

© 2010 Shrewsbury Chronicle

The original source for this article can be found here:
http://www.shrewsburychronicle.com/2008/09/18/dream-comes-true-for-lizzie/

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This post is a follow up to my other recent post which can be found here:
http://thewonderfulworldofautism.blogspot.com/2010/07/fame-for-actress-with-asperger-syndrome.html


Robert Mann BA (Hons)

Fame for actress with Asperger syndrome

Fame for actress with Asperger syndrome

Article from BBC Shropshire - September 16, 2008

A Shrewsbury teenager appeared alongside Dakota Blue Richards in BBC One's 2008 adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's Dustbin Baby. Lizzy Clark plays a girl with Asperger Syndrome - even more remarkable given that she also has the condition.


Fourteen-year-old Lizzy played the part of Poppy, a teenager with Asperger syndrome, in the BBC TV adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's children's book Dustbin Baby. It was Lizzy's first professional acting role.

Lizzy also suffers from Asperger syndrome, offering her a unique take on her new character.

The syndrome is a relatively mild form of autism. Lizzy said that because it's subtle, people don't see her as autistic: "They see me as someone who's a bit strange and not very easy to get on with, although I do have lots of friends who love me and support me."

In Dustbin Baby, the local teenager appeared alongside household names like Juliet Stevenson, and star of The Golden Compass, Dakota Blue Richards. Jacqueline Wilson, president of the Shrewsbury Bookfest, is one of the UK's most popular children's authors and Lizzy is a big fan.

It was Lizzy's mother, Nicky, who saw an advert for the role on an autism website: "I think it's incredibly positive that the BBC chose to find an actress who has the same condition as the character."

Being on set was the best experience of Lizzy's life. She said: "At first it was a bit intimidating," being with such big stars as Juliet Stevenson and Dakota Blue Richards, but after a while, she said you, "stop noticing the cameras".

Nicky Clark says getting the role has been a huge boost to Lizzy's self-esteem. She said: "It was lovely for Lizzy; it was lovely for people with autism... to show that anything is achievable."

The original source for this article can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2008/09/16/aspergers_actress_feature.shtml

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Another success story showing that a person with Asperger's Syndrome can achieve great things in life, Lizzy Clark really is an inspiration to both those with the condition and their parents. She shows that while many things may be out of reach for us Aspies, if we focus on trying to achive the one thing that we love doing and that we are truly great at we can not only find a great job and/or career but also find a place in the world where we truly feel that we belong.

Having seen Dustbin Baby myself I can honestly say that Lizzy Clark really does have a terrific talent for acting. The idea of having someone with Aspergers Syndrome play a character with the condition is an inspired one as it allows the actor to draw from their real life experiences for the part and Lizzy's portrayal of Poppy really captures the essence of a character who may seem a bit odd and may not fully understand the world around her but makes up for it with heart and a refreshingly innocent attitude.

I wish Lizzy Clark all the best and hope that she continues to do well as an actress.

Robert Mann BA (Hons)