Have you noticed that there aren’t many characters on television with disabilities?
A new study shows that characters with disabilities represent only 1% of all regular characters. This misrepresents life today where about 12% of citizens report an apparent disability. This season there are only 6 scripted characters with disabilities on primetime television.
Shows with regularly scripted characters with disabilities include:
House - (Fox) Dr. House uses a cane
Glee - (Fox) Artie Abrams uses a wheelchair
Raising Hope - (Fox) Maw Maw has Alzheimer’s disease
Parenthood - (NBC) Max Braverman has Asperger’s Syndrome
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - (CBS) Dr. Albert Robbins uses a prosthetic leg
These characters also misrepresent reality since the majority are male and caucasian. In actuality people with disabilities are very diverse and the majority are female. There has been a wider range of diversity in reoccurring characters rather than scripted regulars.
