While July is the official Disability Awareness Month, disabilities affect people all months of year, and we need to talk about it. Especially the representation in the media of people with different disabilities. Or shall I say, the lack thereof.
Disabilities are varied and wide spectrum. We have broad categories for them, being physical, sensory, developmental, and psychiatric. Physical disabilities affect your mobility or motor functions. Cerebral Palsy, spinal injuries, and arthritis are common examples of physical disabilities. Developmental disabilities, like intellectual disability or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, affect cognitive functions, especially at a younger age. Psychiatric disorders are psychological conditions, like PTSD or bipolar or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). Though these can get tricky, as the way they debilitate a person is not very well documented or taken seriously. Neurological disabilities affect the brain and nervous system, like a traumatic brain injury. Neurodevelopmental disabilities are commonly represented by ADHD and ADD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit disorder). Finally, we have sensory and learning disabilities. Sensory disorders consist of a disability that affects some sort of sense, such as blindness or deafness. Learning disorders, like dyslexia (reading difficulties) and dyscalculia (math difficulties) affect your learning process.
We’d think that, if we have so many different types of disabilities and disorders, we would have a better understanding of and acceptance towards disabled people. Unfortunately, due to negative stereotypes and ableist history, we still have so many misconceptions about those who are disabled. For example, not everyone who uses a wheelchair is paraplegic. While the statistics are inconclusive currently, it has been reported that up to 1/3 of wheelchair users are ambulatory. This means they still can move and walk with less assistance. Another misconception is that people who use canes or walkers are old, or that you can only develop physical disabilities later in life. Disabilities can be developed at any time in one’s life, and mobility aids can be needed at any point. So why do we depict disabilities as this rare, scary, and sad thing?
That’s another thing. The extreme depictions of disabilities. Either people who are disabled are depicted as hopeless and wish they weren’t disabled, or they’re a superhero and an inspiration. We are normal people. We have our good days, and our bad ones. We shouldn’t be reduced to one emotion because we are people with a wide and diverse variety of emotions. Or the extremities of psychiatric disorders. People with schizophrenia are considered dangerous and “insane”, people with bipolar disorder are “unstable and something you should fear”, or OCD is being the “neat freak”. These depictions are useless at best and harmful at worst because these disorders are a spectrum. We do not all depict disabilities the same way, just as no two people are alike. We need to start depicting disabled people and characters as what they are: people.
It also sucks, as someone who uses mobility aids, to have little to no accessibility in your daily life. Schools have barely any accommodation, and if they do have the occasional wheelchair ramp, it’s on the other side of the school. So, it gets to a point where it feels like the 1950s, where folks with mobility issues need to be “hidden from public view”. But with all systemic issues, the rights and support for people with disabilities are still new. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed in 1990 by President Bush. That’s only 34 years ago. So, architecture and medical information are still outdated and unavailable to people with disabilities. That’s also not to mention the discrimination against queer, afab, and people of color in disability spaces.
Disability affects about 1 in 6 people. Whether it be in the mind, body, or both, we all deserve respect and accommodation for our disabilities. We deserve to feel safe and comfortable in our bodies and shouldn’t be treated like we’re incompetent or a burden. Disabled people are still people and deserve to access quality medical care. So what could you do to help people around you with disabilities? The best thing you can do is ask what help they need. It can be nice to help them put something away or offer advice, but you need to always ask what would make the disabled person feel most welcome. If you’re holding events, please try to make them accessible. If someone has sensory disorders, make sure to add accommodations so they can experience everything too. I think people often think we want “special treatment”, but in reality, we want what everyone else wants: to be able to function and enjoy life.
Just remember that, if someone around you is disabled, treat them with respect and kindness. Treat others how you want to be treated, and please, for the love of God, do not push wheelchairs without asking.
I feel like you can’t really find a lot of rep in media that is the high functioning disabled people and if a character has some form of disability and is high functioning then they just ignore it :c
yes! you are so right about the lack of representation. I don’t really have any disabilities, but I absolutely feel for those who do. I love that you are speaking out