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December 2002

By Sarah Schmelling

You don’t have to be in the entertainment industry to feel the importance put on appearance in Los Angeles. You see it everywhere, from the dozens of plastic surgery ads in the free local papers, to the chances of finding clothes in an average-human-being size in any kind of hip boutique.

It is no surprise, then, that these views often carry over into the images we see on television, a world where historically the people looking back at us have been not only thin and gorgeous, but also hardly ever have displayed any kind of disability. Not that, for example, people in wheelchairs are much more absent than some other groups. In fact, Academy Award-nominated actress Terri Garr, when recently announcing her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, said she doubted this condition would cause her more difficulty in getting roles than the fact that she also is a woman over the age of 50.

However, some believe the images we see of people with disabilities on the small screen may be slowly changing. In a recent column in the Los Angeles Times,¹ Howard Rosenberg writes that beyond the fact that TV programs are more often employing actors with disabilities—Daryl (Chill) Mitchell of Ed, paralyzed from the mid-chest down, and Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, on The West Wing, are two examples—some shows are making a departure from the traditional roles imposed on those with disabilities. Getting much praise from activists, Rosenberg writes, is a TV movie called Anna’s Dream, which aired in October on PAX-TV. Unlike characters on other shows who have been injured, then find inspiration and recover from their disabilities, “Anna” is a teenager who, after a devastating fall as a gymnast, learns to accept being in a wheelchair and, as Rosenberg says, “preaches that one can lead a full life seated.”

Tari Susan Hartman, a Los Angeles media consultant and founder of the Media Access Office, a clearinghouse for actors with disabilities, sees shows like Anna’s Dream as a refreshing change from the “formulaic stories depicting those with disabilities overcoming all barriers,” showing characters “that don’t really triumph over adversity because it’s not a triumph over society’s prejudices and lowered expectations.” Instead, she tells Rosenberg, these newer stories are more true to life, because “people with disabilities focus on the same issue that people without disabilities do—being fulfilled as human beings.”

This is an important and very positive change. However, as influential as television can be on the attitudes of the general public, the way that people with disabilities see themselves is much more important. And it is the people who work with those with disabilities every day—the rehab community—who can play an integral role in changing the views of their patients. Rehab professionals are often some of the first faces injured patients see, so clearly they are the practitioners who can share positive, yet realistic outlooks and make a great difference in the way their patients see the world and themselves in it. Even independent “Anna” had a rehab counselor who helped alter her perspective.

As the new senior editor of Rehab Management, I am greatly looking forward to becoming part of the wealth of real-life, inspiring stories of people who heal, lift spirits, and change attitudes—all from much closer than any television screen.

—Sarah Schmelling
cwolski@medpubs.com

Reference

Rosenberg H. Good intentions count, whatever else may falter. Los Angeles Times. October 14, 2002. Available at: www.calendarlive.com Accessed October 15, 2002.

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