Some of my goals are actually, uh, getting a girlfriend
and, uh, getting my driver's license.
It's my dream to be a famous actress.
I was the first cheerleader in the state
with Down syndrome.
I rap.
You know, I hook up beats,
like hip-hop, gangster beats or whatever.
When I grow up, I'm gonna be a weather girl,
or I just want to be, like,
a famous singer or dancer.
I'm gonna date two ladies.
CASTING DIRECTOR: Who?
Miley Cyrus
and Taylor Swift.
I love music, technologies,
also being on camera, of course.
Casting
like casting any show.
You're looking for people with charisma,
people with energy, people with a unique point of view,
people that aren't afraid to say how they feel
and what they're thinking.
So I would say...
casting, in some ways, is casting.
The biggest challenge for us casting was
really convincing the families
that we had good intentions with the show.
There wasn't, at the time, many shows
that dealt with people with disabilities,
um, people with Down syndrome.
And so, understandably, the families were hesitant
to share their stories out of fear
that, possibly, their stories might be told
in a negative light.
I remember the day that you got home
-and you-- he told me, -Mm.
"By the way,
"the show that they're thinking about Cristina
is a reality show."
-And what was my word? -No.
-No. -Yeah.
-You know that. -Well, there was a few other words
a-around the "no."
But, yeah, no.
(both laugh)
Through the years,
maybe because we've met a lot of people
through our kids who have told us, "Trust me"--
teachers, coaches, like,
you develop a gut instinct to know who is--
who truly means "trust me"
and you can trust your child to that person
and who you shouldn't.
There was a spark in the eyes of the producer
that m-- sold the idea to us.
We knew we could trust this person and...
she would be faithful to our children.
One of the things, I think, that made me a great candidate
to show-run the show is that,
prior to coming and working in television,
I earned my doctorate in clinical psychology.
So, as a psychologist who worked
with children and families with intellectual disabilities
and physical disabilities,
I was just born to do this show.
There's just something inside of me
that, when I met these young adults,
it's as if we had known each other for a very long time.
I saw what made them special.
I had a hunger to make sure that that was brought out
and just elevate them to make sure that they could be
their best person while the camera was rolling.
It was important for us when we were casting this show
that we really represent truly the Down syndrome community,
which means casting people from all different backgrounds--
different racial backgrounds,
different socioeconomic backgrounds,
different goals and dreams and aspirations.
We thought Rachel was hilarious
and kind of, uh, honest...
...and very genuine and just really a lot of fun.
-She definitely takes after her mom with dancing. -Yes,
-I do. And my brother. -LAURIE: She loves to dance.
A little tweaking and stuff like that.
-(laughs) -RACHEL: Okay, Mom.
-Twerking. Twerking. -Twerking. Twerking, not tweaking.
-She was twerking. (laughs) -Okay.
Steven is a film buff, and he had--
he came to the final interview, actually,
with a binder full of the winners
of every year,
going back to who knows how long.
Uh, you ask him anything about movies and he'll tell you
who won the Academy Award in 1950, you know?
All About Eve.
(laughing)
My favorite part during casting with Sean was
he came to his final interview
with a pack of cool, attractive young men.
They didn't have Down syndrome,
and they all came there just to support him
for his final casting interview.
And it was very obvious then--
we knew Sean was the cool boy.
I know these guys,
like, around nine years.
Yeah, we're your entourage.
And that means just they're my assistants.
(chuckles) Yeah, we're your assistants. Yeah.
Elena had no filter.
She's really what you look for
when you're looking for a great cast member.
She shares her opinions,
she's not afraid to speak her mind
and she'll let you know how she feels.
I love to talk a lot. Some people says,
"Oh, you-you talk too much. You talk too much."
(mumbles) What people will say that
to the wonderful, talented, sexy girl like me?
John Tucker had swag.
He was the snappiest dresser.
Also was a rapper, and we didn't have
any other people applying that were rappers.
♪
The thing that was so wonderful about Cristina
-was her family. -Mm.
And right away, we saw this incredibly loving,
warm, nurturing,
sort of ideal family that I think--
the type of family everybody wants.
I learn from her that it's very important to say "I love you,"
that it's very important to take care of people,
to make people happy.
What was interesting about Megan is how ambitious she is.
She was our first person that we interviewed
that was driven, had a career goal
in mind, had a business plan.
She wanted more than anything to have agency,
and she was gonna make it possible to have it.
I want to be as a person
that wants to go out in the real world
and do what-- and do whatever I want.
Networks, studios, producers--
they're all starting to wake up to the fact
that there are tremendously gifted people with disabilities
not just in front of the camera but behind the camera, too.
There is great possibility within disability.