abilityE has already become a trusted industry resource, helping to authentically cast roles for heavy-hitter studios like Disney and Netflix. Other studios like NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery and DreamWorks also provided valuable input during abilityE’s development.

One-quarter of U.S. residents — 61 million people — have a disability. Yet less than 2% of words spoken on TV are by a person with a disability. And 95% of top TV show characters with disabilities are played by non-disabled performers.

Background

How abilityE came to be

When Netflix was casting for their new series “The Healing Powers of Dude” their casting people could only find 10 actors to audition that fit the age range who authentically used a wheelchair. They came to us for help.

We accessed our platforms abilityJOBS.com and ABILITY Magazine, casting a wide net. From our efforts, we sent Netflix casting several hundred requests for auditions and they found exactly who they were looking for, Sophie Kim — she was cast as Amara.

The word spread, and other casting offices were asking for help — so abilityE was born to be the source to cast a wider net.