What makes someone special? Normally it’s other people. As individuals (I would like to believe) we are all special to someone. The word on its own is harmless. It’s the association that people have when we put the words ‘special’ and ‘disability’ in the same context. It helps keep society’s perception of disability and issues that surround it firmly in the dark ages. A person with a disability is automatically shown as special and often portrayed as rare. Now please bear with me on this, because we should all have admiration for any individual or group of people who face adversity in everyday life. The problem that arises from the portrayal of disabled people as ‘special’ is that disability is barely represented in every day life. A disabled character story line is often entirely about their particular disabilities and their personality is often secondary. Of course there are exceptions to this but not enough.
How does this void in the media and TV of disabled people as individuals translate into every day life? Well I can only reference my own experiences (I am a parent carer). Some people don’t know how to relate to my son, they become anxious and awkward. Its not malicious, they just have no experience of disability. With little representation of disabled people as people first and foremost in what we watch and read means society in general has little understanding of disability and the issues faced by those who are affected. In January this year, thousands of disabled people took to the streets of London in protest against the British Government’s proposed welfare reforms. The protesters managed to bring Oxford Street to a standstill for 2 hours. A group of wheelchair users chained themselves together to block the road. How was this momentous event reported in the media? Well, barely is the short answer. I saw a brief report on Sky News and the following day there was a small column in the newspapers. This is a simple illustration of how society disassociates with disability. If people’s perceptions are to change, the attitude of the media needs to change. That said, I do see light at the end of the tunnel. They say that children are our future (sorry couldn’t resist) and I believe this so true for the future inclusion of disabled people and the issues that surround them. The continued successful inclusion of disabled children in main stream education along with the BBC employing presenters like Cheryl Brunnel, (she was born with part of her arm missing) will all make the next generations aware, informed and familiar with disability. Although her employment (unbelievably) caused some complaints from parents, who didn’t know how to explain Cheryl’s missing limb. We are about to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The World will be watching us. This is such an amazing time. A time to set examples. Disabled people aren’t special. Just people!