Disability in TV dramas

1. Amelia Bird

2. Disability – Able –
A physical or mental The capacity or
condition that limits means to do
a person's something.
movements, senses,
or activities.

3. • Vulnerable • Unattractive
• Rude • Helpless
• Weak • Attention Seeking
• Burden • Brave
• Laughable • Tag Along
• Unintelligent • Lonely
• Crazy • Easily Bullied
• Weird

5. • Tina in Glee has been faking her stutter for
years.
• It started when she wanted to get out of
speaking in front of a large group of people.
• Then she liked being different and the fact that
people stayed away from her because of it.
• This conforms to the stereotype that disabled
people are seen as lonely.

6. • As well as this, Artie from Glee is in a
wheelchair.
• He see’s himself as a burden to everyone
else, which is a stereotype of disabled people.
This is because people have to carry him in and
out of the auditorium and they had to get a
special disabled bus to take him on a trip.

7. • After being in a car crash, Quinn is disabled for
a short term.
• She conforms to stereotype that disabled
people are brave because she is determined to
walk again and therefore goes to therapy.

8. • However most of the characters in Glee are
able bodied. This is shown because they sing
and dance around a stage.
• However they do take into consideration Artie
who cannot do any of that and therefore
challenge the stereotype because they do not
bully the unable.

9. • Tarrick in Waterloo Road has been put into a
wheelchair after a car accident.
• His character can be seen as brave because he
decides the take up the sport of
canoeing, which can be dangerous for
someone who cannot swim.
• However he is also displayed as unintelligent
because he is not doing well in school.
• As well as this, he could conform to the
stereotype of crazy because he wanted to
commit suicide for the way that he was.

11. • The main character of this show suffers with
depression and follows her life of recovering.
• She follows the stereotype that the mentally ill
can be crazy because she has outbursts of
anger towards he mum.
• She could also be seen as weak because she
cannot control her personality.

12. • Jean in Eastenders suffers with Bi-polar and so
does her daughter Stacey.
• Jean is also seen as crazy because she also has
outbursts of anger at people, and so does
Stacey.
• Jean is also easily laughable because people
used to laugh at her when they realised that
she was ‘’crazy’’.

13. • Emma in Glee suffers with the mental illness of
OCD.
• Emma follows the stereotype that people with
a mental illness can be a bit crazy or weird and
that’s because she cleans everything that she
eats or sits near, which can be seen as
abnormal because it is getting in the way of her
everyday life.
• This compares to the able because people are
not normally bothered about cleaning
everything or afraid of catching germs like she
is.