Britton Payne: Promoting Authentic Autistic Representation in Pop Culture

This episode, Chris & Rachel interview Britton Payne! Britton Payne is an entertainment attorney who has worked with major studios like Nickelodeon and Warner Bros., and he is also the father of an autistic son. He founded The Autism Scene and created the AUSPEC Awards to promote authentic autistic representation—especially non-speaking AAC users—in children’s animation! Key Ideas This Week: Authentic Autistic Representation in Kids’ Media Matters - Britton emphasizes that autistic and non-speaking characters are vastly underrepresented in children’s animation. Because kids’ pop culture reaches every home and classroom, it has huge potential to model empathy, patience, and inclusion—especially for non-speaking autistic people who use AAC. Representation in media can teach children how to interact respectfully with peers long before adulthood. The Autism Scene and AUSPEC Awards Aim to Change the Industry - Britton founded The Autism Scene and created the AUSPEC Awards, a script competition requiring meaningful interaction with an explicitly autistic character. The competition offers resources, tutorials, sample scripts, and feedback from autism consultants, autistic reviewers, and animation industry leaders. The goal is to help writers create characters that are authentic, non-ableist, and industry-ready—and to make studio executives more comfortable greenlighting shows with autistic characters. Inclusion Requires Patience, Understanding, and High Expectations - Through stories about his friend Alfonso and conversations about AAC, Britton highlights how neurotypical people must learn to wait, listen, and presume competence—especially with non-speaking AAC users. He stresses that autistic people belong in every genre and every part of society. Giving them space and tools to express themselves enriches everyone’s storytelling and understanding of the world. Visit talkingwithtech.org for weekly episodes, transcripts, and resources to help speech-language pathologists, caregivers, and communication partners tailor technology for people with complex communication needs! Join the Talking With Tech Patreon to get exclusive benefits like bonus guest‐interview episodes, behind-the-scenes videos, giveaways, and priority answers to your AAC questions to help you sharpen your skills and confidence in AAC!

You can listen to Britton Payne: Promoting Authentic Autistic Representation in Pop Culture online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Britton Payne: Promoting Authentic Autistic Representation in Pop Culture is an episode from Talking With Tech AAC Podcast by Rachel Madel and Chris Bugaj.

This episode is 28:02 long.

This episode was published on Dec 11, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Talking With Tech AAC Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.