ABC's Grey's Anatomy (perhaps in an effort to boost lagging ratings) has introduced a surgeon, Virginia Dixon, who has Asperger's Syndrome -- a form of high-functioning autism -- and a popular resident, Izzie Stevens, may have a brain tumor. Boston Legal's Denny Crane is in the early stages of Alzheimer's.
Several other primetime characters are also suspect of falling somewhere along the autism spectrum, including Dr. Temperance Brennan of Bones, two children of Vic Mackey on The Shield, Jerry Espenson on Boston Legal, Dr. Greg House on House, M.D., and many more.
Less prevalent, however, are physical disabilities such as blindness and deafness. One notable exception was the appearance of Academy Award-winning deaf actress Marlee Matlin on the top-rated show, Dancing with the Stars, in early 2008. The ABC show consistently wins in the rating, averaging about 20 million viewers per show. Even more than when amputee Heather Mills was on the show, Matlin's turn dancing on the show blew up the audience's notions about who is "able" to dance.
Another important actor with a disability who has been very visible on TV for a number of years is amputee Robert David Hall, who plays the medical examiner on CBS's rating hit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. And on cable, TLC's Little People, Big World follows the lives of Amy and Matt Roloff, who are Little People who live on a farm in Oregon with their four children, one of whom is also an LP.
Recently, in an episode of Saturday Night Live, New York Gov. David Paterson -- who is partially blind -- was portrayed in a skit as confused and disoriented -- often looking in the wrong direction and mistakenly walking in front of the camera when it was not his turn to speak.
While some, including Paterson, called the skit offensive, it does prove that the disability conversation has permeated prime time space, along with the more traditional racial and ethic plot lines.
Some experts say that once the disabled are recognized as a minority group that collectively brings intelligence, talent and perspective to the table -- as doctors and lawyers and dancers, for instance -- the more likely it is that disability employment rates will go up and more stereotypes will be broken. Additionally, there will be more national coverage of disabilities in the media, as well as a larger understanding among abled-bodied people of what it's really like to be disabled.
In sum, efforts to portray people with disabilities on prime time TV will do much to elevate the perception that anyone can do anything -- just differently.
Suzanne Robitaille - Suzanne Robitaille is a writer and disability advocate. She writes about disability topics on her blog, Profoundly Yours and for several ...
