Creating Authentic Representation With Carl the Collector | SXSW EDU 2025 Rewind

“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.”
Dr. Stephen Shore

Meet Carl the Collector, a neurodivergent raccoon whose love of collecting and unique way of thinking leads to many new experiences with his friends. The team behind the newest addition to the PBS Kids lineup took the stage at SXSW EDU 2025 to share the tools, research, and collaboration that went into ensuring authentic representation, and how the series is already resonating with children, families, and educators alike.

Casting The Collector

To ensure authentic representation, the team made it a priority for Carl to be voiced by an autistic child. When faced with roadblocks in traditional casting channels, director of Yowza! Animation, Lisa Whittick, found luck within the autism community. As a parent of an autistic child, Lisa tapped into a Facebook group for parents of children with autism, reviewing dozens of audition tapes from non-actors. That process led them to Kai, who brings Carl the Collector to life.

Representing The Full Spectrum

The show highlights the diversity of autism through its characters. One new addition is Paolo, a pre-verbal panda voiced by pre-verbal actor Odin Frost. Like Odin, Paolo communicates using an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device, which offers multiple ways for nonverbal individuals to express themselves without speaking. Another character, Lotta Fox – a friend of Carl’s who also has autism – helps show the unique challenges faced by girls with autism and the different ways those experiences can be expressed.

Starting the Conversation

Watching Carl the Collector as a family has become a powerful way for parents to start important conversations about autism. The show creates meaningful opportunities for connection by allowing kids to see themselves reflected in the characters. Many children have even started mimicking the coping mechanisms shown in the series—like taking belly breaths—as a way to manage their own emotions in everyday life.

Watch the full session to learn more about authentic representation:

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Photo by Daniel Poe