The success of fictitious television series and/or sitcoms consists in their ability to keep the audience’s interest in the story line and through the fictitious characters. They should be able to elicit a wide range of emotions from the television audience. Whenever an effort has been made to challenge the norms in society, it is concealed in the story line and thus touches the audience in an indirect way through the story line presented. People with disabilities are still not being offered many roles, but a rising number of television series and/or sitcoms are including actual disabled persons, many of these roles of which are central characters. All the same, this does not suggest that they are being portrayed in a positive manner or are changing the norms of society. Roles with disabilities are oftentimes less powerful and give a restricted role in comparison to characters who do not have a disability.
The character I have chosen to write about is JJ from the television sitcom Speechless. JJ is a 16 year old who has cerebral palsy. Speechless shows JJ is non-verbal. JJ’s disability level requires him to use a pointer with a laser and a chart which contains common words and also the alphabet. This form of communication device allows him to communicate with others. Although this type of communication device is not common, it is a type of an (AAC) which stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication device which allows JJ to communicate with the use of language instead of symbols or pictures. JJ is able to move his arms and hands, move and turn his head. JJ also has the ability to move his upper torso with some ease. JJ is able to move about independently with the use of a power wheelchair which has a joystick, it allows him to steer around on his own.
The Cerebral Palsy Foundation describe cerebral palsy as a condition categorized by impaired muscle coordination and or other disabilities. The brain damage is typically caused by brain injury or any abnormal development of the brain that occurs while a child’s brain is still developing whether it is before birth, during birth, or immediately after. Cerebral palsy affects; muscle control, movement, coordination, tone and reflex. It may also impact fine motor skills, gross motor skills and oral motor functioning. The severity of cerebral palsy is determined by the extent, type and location of the abnormalities (yourcpf.org). For the purpose of this paper I will briefly focus on the most common which is Spastic Cerebral Palsy. People will experience increased muscle tone and their movements may appear stiff or awkward. Different parts of the body can be affected. The following are three different areas of Spastic Cerebral Palsy which show which areas are affected. Spastic hemiplegia/hemiparesis typically affects the arm, hand, and leg on one side of the body. Spastic diplegia/diparesis involves muscle stiffness that is predominantly in the legs. The arms may be affected to a lesser extent. And lastly spastic quadriplegia/quadriparesis which is the most severe form of cerebral palsy. It is caused by widespread damage to the brain or significant brain malformations (yourcpf.org). There are many other symptoms which can be experienced by those affected by Cerebral Palsy which determine how mild or severe the disability may be and how much support and care they will need from assisted devices and caregivers.
Cerebral Palsy which is the disability portrayed in Speechless does accurately assist in plot development. JJ’s character is portrayed by Micah Fowler, an 18 year old actor who has cerebral palsy. Micah Fowler unlike JJ is able to speak although with some difficulty. Micah is also able to use a walker to move about, at times Micah will use a wheelchair if he has to travel long distances. Speechless provides the audience a glimpse of a family with a child who has a disability. The show does not focus so much on JJ’s struggles as a disabled person but they do focus on the support and love of his family and those around him which allows JJ to seem to be an adolescent who is well adjusted to his surroundings.
The Cerebral Palsy Foundation and The Center for Parent Information and Resources are two online resources I have found that provide a wide range of information about cerebral palsy. The Cerebral Palsy Foundation provides insight into the networking and research that is currently happening in order to improve the lives of those affected by cerebral palsy. This website provides facts sheets on a wide variety of topics from the types of cerebral palsy, risks and factors, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and assistance devices. It also provides a variety of videos which include insights from professionals, how to be inclusive, and women’s health. The Cerebral Foundation also provides information on their current brain research and many other projects that are under way in improving the lives of those affected by cerebral palsy. The Center for Parent Information and Resources focuses on advocacy to parents and families of those with a cerebral palsy disability. The team currently working as advocates are themselves a parent, sibling or spouse to someone with a disability. This website provides resources to topics that address laws, health, early intervention, parent support centers, topics centered around school aged children, high school aged children and beyond.
Disabled people are often stereotyped. A stereotype is an over simplified mental picture or idea of a person or group. Some of the stereotypes against people with disabilities are: people with a disability are different from those who do not have a disability and they are limited in the things they can do, people with disabilities should be pitied, those that have a disability and are successful are somehow super humans, the disability is a sickness and it has to be fixed, and people with disabilities are a danger to others, themselves and society especially those with mental disabilities.
The above mentioned stereotypes are just a few of the many stereotypes that people with disabilities continue to encounter in today’s society.
A form of stereotype I came across while watching an episode of Speechless was that of JJ’s mother finding out that the wheelchair ramp JJ was going to use to have access into the school was that of the ramp being used to dispose of the garbage. JJ’s mother refused to have JJ use a garbage ramp for her son as she put it in the episode, was not garbage. During the conversation the groundskeeper who later became JJ’s aide used the word cripple several times. JJ’s mother’s response was to call the groundskeeper a cripple himself for being ignorant and requested that for his use of words he should be cited and the word should be deemed hate speech.
Some television series and/or sitcoms have managed to incorporate characters that give a real and positive representation of a person with disability along with the right attitude from other characters in the sitcom, by doing this it shows society the attitudes needed to embrace people with disabilities. Take note that Micah Fowler played the role of someone having cerebral palsy when he himself has the same disability in real life. One can say that if the character has lived the experience of the disability they can better portray the role of the disabled character. They can also provide a better understanding to those involved in creating the television and/or sitcom have a better understanding that people with disabilities can be just as good as a non-disabled person if not better.
Media and its access to the diverse programming available can be very instrumental in helping to create a change in how society thinks and feels about people with disabilities. I believe that if media continues to be inclusive, individuals with disabilities will continue having the roles which give a better portrayal of the disabilities they are afflicted with. Disabled individuals will be providing audiences with the necessary information and knowledge to create change and how they view individuals with disabilities. Although change is slowly happening it needs to be ongoing. More people with disabilities should be allowed the opportunities to work not only in front of the cameras but in the overall process of creating programming. Individuals with disabilities should be allowed to tell their own stories, who better to tell the story but those that are living with the disability on a daily basis. The media and all of those involved in creating television shows and/or sitcoms must make it a priority to continue sending a message in order to influence society and not the other way around. It is important that they continue to increase the amount of positive feedback related to disabilities in order for society to stay away from stereotyping individuals with disabilities.