What’s on your TV?

• Layla’s in series three, four, and five of the show.
• Layla’s played by Cara Readle, who has cerebral palsy. You can find out more about her experiences as a disabled actor in this BBC interview.
• For some Scout-themed viewing, check out the episode Be Prepared.
• Do people think Layla found it tricky because she’s disabled, or because of the tasks she was trying to do (like putting up a big tent on her own) and the trouble Michael caused?
• What skills did Layla show she could do on her own to get her badges? Did she need any extra help?

• Artie appears in all six seasons – there are lots of clips on YouTube.
• Artie’s played by Kevin McHale, who isn’t disabled. Glee faced a lot of criticism for this casting decision – you can find opinion pieces on Disability Thinking, the Guardian, and Access Online.
• One relevant episode is Wheels (season one, episode nine) – there’s a handy plot summary on this page (though ‘accessible’ is a better way to describe the bus).
• Does Glee show that it’s wrong that the principal won’t pay for an accessible bus? How does it portray everyone in the glee club when they won’t help fundraise? Is it fair that Artie’s expected to say it’s OK?
• Artie needs Will to help him with his shoelaces and is shown struggling a lot. Is that realistic? How does it make the viewer feel about Artie?
• In the end, everyone spends time using wheelchairs. Quinn says that they’re losers because ‘they’re in Glee Club and in wheelchairs’. Is this helpful representation? Do the other characters really understand what it’s like to be a wheelchair user? They don’t have to face lots of barriers from society and they don’t have to worry about the future. Wheelchairs are shown as limiting, when, really, they enable people to move around – it’s the inaccessibility of society (like buses!) that’s the problem.
• How else could the rest of Glee Club have understood what it’s like to be a wheelchair user? For example, they could’ve asked Artie and listened!
• Another relevant episode is Dream On (season one, episode nineteen). Artie wants to dance, but instead of learning how to dance in his wheelchair (like plenty of talented disabled dancers do), there’s a dream sequence with a magic cure. Is this good representation? Why not?

• Julia was introduced to the long-running show in 2015. She’s autistic, and was introduced to teach viewers about autism. You can watch her first appearance here.
• The team chose to make the autistic character a girl. Does this help counter stereotypes about autism?
• What other character traits and skills does Julia have? If the fact that she’s autistic the only thing the viewer knows about her?
• How do Julia’s friends react to her?
• Does Sesame Street portray autism positively or negatively? How might it help children to understand their friends?
• You can read about why the team behind Sesame Street decided to create an autistic character here.
• There’s been some criticism that Sesame Street talked to parents and siblings of autistic people, rather than autistic people themselves. Sometimes Elmo and Abby try to ‘help’ Julia without checking what she wants first.

• Cass is deaf. She has a main storyline in a two-part special, Under the Lake and Before the Flood (series nine, episodes three and four).
• What else does the viewer know about Cass as a character, apart from the fact that she’s deaf? Does Cass break down any stereotypes about deaf people? How does Cass’ deafness affect her job?
• Does Cass fall into the trope (recurring theme) of a character’s disability saving the day? Is this a good or a bad thing?
• Cass is played by Sophie Stone, who was the first deaf person to get a place at RADA (a prestigious acting school). You can find out more about Sophie’s experiences as an actor here. The British Deaf Association applauded the episode. You can read what they thought here.

• JJ’s the main character in all three seasons of the show. You can watch the trailer here.
• What can people see about JJ’s personality from the trailer? Is he a typical teenager?
• How does the trailer highlight barriers that disabled people face?
• JJ’s played by Micah Fowler, who has cerebral palsy.
• You can read a variety of opinions on Respect Ability.

• Edward’s the main character of a Japanese manga series that’s been adapted into two anime television series. He lost his right arm and left leg trying to bring his mother back to life. He wears automail, versatile prosthetics that link to his nervous system.
• You could watch this clip of Edward and his brother arguing and talking about getting their bodies back and this clip (which contains cartoon violence) that shows Edward wearing his new automail.
• People disagree about whether Edward is good representation because his prosthetics are so much more advanced than the technology we have available – he can move and fight so well that some people say he doesn’t really represent what it’s like to be disabled in the real world.
• However, the show does show some of the difficult bits of having automail – it’s expensive and painful!
• Others think it’s great to have a strong disabled character who’s able to do so much, and whose narrative doesn’t focus on suffering or limitations.

• Takuto’s the main character of this Japanese TV drama. He finds out that he has Motor Neurone Disease (MND, known as ALS in the US).
• You can watch the trailer here, although it isn’t subtitled or dubbed in English. Alternatively, this is a fan-made video with clips from the show (which contains a brief glimpse of a moving duvet).
• Some people have pointed out that the show only shows the story of someone who’s really wealthy, in a country where healthcare isn’t free. Takuto also has a job which makes accommodations for him when employers don’t always do this in real life.
• Some people have said that it’s dehumanising when a disabled person (or person with an illness or condition) exists just to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest.

In general:

• How many disabled characters can people name?
• Are the disabled characters people thought of played by disabled actors, or do non-disabled actors get the roles? Why might it be better to case disabled actors?
• Are the characters’ storylines dominated by their disability or condition? What else do people know about the character, apart from the fact that they’re disabled?

For the clips you watch:

• How much of the character’s storyline is about their disability? Are they a rounded character as well as being disabled?
• Is the character’s disability used to tell the viewer something about their personality or motivations? For example, Changing Faces created a campaign called I Am Not Your Villain, which urged the film industry to stop using scars, marks, or burns as a shorthand for villainy.
• How do other characters react to the person’s disability?
• Overall, is the disability portrayed in a positive, negative, or neutral way?

• How will the character enter the show? It’ll depend on the show – perhaps they could join a class at the start of term, get a job at a company, or move into a certain neighbourhood.
• How will they be introduced in their first scene? Will there be a slow motion shot of them entering a building? Will another character talk about them? Will they do something exciting or unexpected?
• What will the character’s personality be like? What skills and talents do they have? Use your imagination – maybe they’re a shy villain who’s great at solving mysteries, or an outgoing and funny hero who’s got a secret talent for singing.

What language will be used to speak about the character’s disability?

• Generally, person-first language is best (for example, a person with Down’s syndrome), but there are cases where people prefer identity-first language (for example, some autistic people and Deaf people).
• A good starting point might be to search for a UK organisation that supports people who are disabled in the way the group’s chosen to see what language they use.
• You could also look at the National Centre on Disability and Journalism’s guide, though it’s important to remember it’s not from the UK, so there may be some differences.
• How could you get disabled people involved? In real life, you could pay for disabled consultants to come on board and check you’re getting it right.

How will other characters view and interact with the main character?

• It’s up to you whether they get it right or not. Another character could get it wrong, as long as you show this carefully and it doesn’t spread an unhelpful message.
• You might want to tackle common misconceptions, for example, that disabled people exist to be inspirational, that they’re sweet and innocent, or that they need to overcome their disability.
• In Speechless, for example, JJ has cerebral palsy. His brother tackles the way that disabled people are portrayed as though they’re brave or inspirational and says ‘It’s a portrayal of people with disabilities as one-dimensional saints who only exist to warm the hearts and open the minds of able-bodied people.’

What storylines will the character have?

• It’s OK for their disability to form part of and affect their storyline – but try to make sure that their disability isn’t the whole storyline.
• What else could happen to the character? Think about the storylines of other characters in the show – do they have to make difficult decisions, learn a skill, or deal with the unexpected?
• How could you get disabled people involved? In real life, you could pay for disabled consultants to come on board and check you’re getting it right.

How will you make it easy for disabled people to be involved?

• What could you do to spread the word? You could make sure it’s clear that auditions are open to all (and that you’re especially looking for disabled actors). You could also advertise them widely – why not reach out to organisations and networks and ask them to help, using whatever budget you have?
• When it comes to the auditions, how can you make sure they’re accessible? You’ll need to think about this from the very start. Choose a venue that’s physically accessible (and easy to get to), then on the day make sure that you’ve got scripts in a range of font sizes, and sign language users, for example.