This fall, ABC debuted a new series about a special-needs family. 7.29 million people tuned in the first week to meet the DiMeo family—Maya (played by Minnie Driver) her husband Jimmy, and their kids JJ, Ray, and Dylan. Show creator Scott Silveri drew from his experiences growing up with an older brother with a disability, and the show was praised for casting an actor who actually has cerebral palsy, Micah Fowler, as the central character in the show.
As the DiMeo family explores their new house in the first episode (“Son, are you familiar with the phrase, ‘Pick the worst house in the best neighborhood?’,” Jimmy asks Ray when he refers to it as a crack house), Maya says they’re moving there for JJ. She’s found a school that will provide him with an aide to speak for him and he can attend regular classes. No more special ed.
After visiting the school and finding out JJ’s way in to the school…
