Speechless is by far my favorite new show this season. For a very personal reason, it is one of my favorite shows of the past decade.

Minnie Driver may be the star... but Micah Fowler as JJ steals the show!

Speechless (ABC Wednesday 7:30 PM CST) is about the hilarious DiMeo family. This family is very proud of being “idiots”. It is very important to note that in their minds, “idiots” are much different from “jerks”. Idiots are good hearted people who don’t care about many things that others do. “Idiots” don’t need nice lawns or fancy cars. They don’t need matching furniture or dishes. They don’t need to be invited to block parties. They just want to “march to a different drummer" and enjoy life.

The mother Maya (played by Minnie Driver) is a British immigrant. Maya is overbearing, aggressive, fearless, funny and loves her family more than anything in the world. She is a true “mama bear” who would do anything for her cubs. The father, Jimmy, is a goofy but loving father who balances Maya’s mania with a sense of carefree calm. They have three high school aged children. Each of which has a unique personality. The youngest girl, Dylan, is a jock. She’s tough and funny. She doesn’t back down to her older brothers… or anyone. The middle boy, Ray, is very smart but is not very tough or athletically gifted. JJ, the oldest son, is 16 years old. He is funny and usually gets along with his brother and sister. Usually. He sometimes picks on his siblings and gets into trouble. His mother dotes on him a little too much for his liking. He’s interested in meeting girls and going to parties. Most importantly, he wants to be independent.

Speechless is a show about the ups and downs every family has.

So that’s it. It’s a hilarious family comedy. It could be any family. Which is why it’s so funny... anyone can connect with it.

The end.

Oh wait. I forgot to mention that the oldest son JJ, and the actor who portrays him, have cerebral palsy. JJ is not able to speak. In order to communicate, he uses a communication board with a laser pointer attached to his glasses to point to words or letters. If JJ wants to converse with someone who cannot see the board, he needs someone to translate for him.

Wow that teenage boy really likes those cheerleaders...
oh yeah and he happens to use a wheelchair.

But that is why I love this show.

JJ (and this show) are not defined by cerebral palsy.

JJ is a great kid who happens to have cerebral palsy.

Speechless is a great show about a family who happens to have a child with cerebral palsy.

Although I do not have a child with a disability, I am a special education teacher. Therefore, I do have some first hand knowledge of teenagers with disabilities. From that experience, I can confidently say that this is the most realistic show about a person with disabilities that I have ever seen (at least as far as the scenes in the school).

In the pilot, JJ’s mother has decided that for the first time in his life, he will attend a general education high school. He requires a 1 on 1 aide in order to succeed. The aide needs to read JJ’s board in order for him to communicate with teachers and peers.

The writers immediately and brilliantly established JJ as a deep, comedic character (rather than a charature of a person with a disability). His aide is a small woman with a very high voice. Because he’s a teenage boy, JJ messes with her and gets her to say things that a fairy godmother would say. He makes her talk about magic wands and mice. It’s really funny.

If you were a teenage boy, would you want the fairy godmother on the right to be your voice?

For all intents and purposes, JJ’s aide is his voice. He clearly doesn’t want his voice to sound like a middle aged fairy godmother. One day, on the way into school, he and his mother meet a custodian named Kenneth. Maya instantly dislikes this man… and of course JJ loves him.

JJ demands that this custodian become his aide. Maya begrudgingly agrees… but begins plotting to get rid of him. JJ has gone from having the voice of a middle aged fairy godmother to a forty year old, 6’4” tall, African-American man. It’s awesome!

In addition to being JJ’s voice, Kenneth must also help JJ with his personal needs like eating, dressing and using the bathroom.

Just as Maya is about to succeed in getting Kenneth fired, she walks in on Kenneth helping her son use the toilet. His kindness, caring, patience… and sense of humor stops her in her tracks. She realizes this is exactly what her son needs. Like any caring mother, she puts her son’s needs over her opinion and changes her mind.

That scene is one of the greatest I have ever seen on TV.

It was both beautiful and funny at the same time. It was also incredibly realistic.

Although, the population I work with do not require assistance with the bathroom, many students in my department do. I am friends with many of the teacher's aides who fulfill this role. From time to time I have had to assist them. I have seen first hand some of the most caring adults anyone will ever meet. The ability to help a fully grown teenager with their needs while still maintaining their dignity is a true gift.

The character of Kenneth perfectly captures this gift. He also shows how to treat a person with a disability. It's simple. You treat them like a person. They are not an egg that is going to break. They are not so emotionally fragile that you can't joke around with them. They are not perfect. They have strengths and weaknesses like everyone else.

Kenneth treats JJ the way I would want someone to treat my own child if he had a disability. He treats JJ like a little brother.

Kenneth may be fictional, but people like him exist in every school.

The stories are sometimes a little bit over my own children's heads. After all, JJ is a teenager. Sometimes teenagers drink beer. Sometimes they look at girls' butts. Sometimes they swear.

Even though these topics sparked some great conversations with my kids, I would typically avoid this content with my 11 and 9 year old. However, the positive messages of this show far outweigh any of that.

During almost every episode, in-between laughs, my kids learn a lesson about love, kindness, compassion, tenacity, and courage.

Most importantly, they learn how you should treat a person with a disability...

You treat them like a person.

Geeky Dad's TV Show Guide

Do my wife and I like it? Yes!!!!
Does my 11 year old son like it? Yes!!!!!
Does my 9 year old daughter like it? Yes!
Humor: 3 -4 laugh out loud moments each episode
Excitement: Not much. It's a sit-com
Fun: Always
Appropriate for kids: Borderline. If it weren't for the positive message I would not let my 9 year old watch it. Its fine for my 11 -year old as long as we discuss any mature topics
How soon after DVRing do we watch: ASAP (sometimes we even watch it live)

Have any of you seen the show? What do you think of it?