My disability is not someone’s red herring
This is what I live with on a daily basis and it
shouldn’t just be a wee filler for a character’s storyline
When it comes to autism like myself, there tends to
be these kinda tropes that it falls into, there’s
It’s usually a guy, they’re usually an expert with
maths or science
And it’s so much more complicated than these
kinda stereotypes
Watching shows, the only seizure that you see is
a tonic-clonic
when in fact there’s over 40 different types
I’ve actually had one time someone say that I’m faking it
because this is how they’ve seen it in different shows
and they kinda just dismiss the fact that I’ve actually had one
Representation matters because there’s been so many studies
that show… what kinda we grow up with as children and
become adults with
They kinda influence how we feel about ourself and
what we deem is kinda normal, what we deem as good
and when you don’t see someone like yourself
it can be incredibly damaging to you as a person
A lot of the representation is played by able-bodied actors
There was a character in this soap “Neighbours” that
was completely, completely blind and I thought for the
first time I was being represented in a, in a main stream soap opera
But a year later, that actress turns up fully sighted
fully able-bodied, and I actually felt so crushed
If we don’t have a disabled actor, what’s the point in then having
a character and then getting an able-bodied person to
fulfil that role?
There’s about ten million people with disabilities in the UK
People with disabilities have unique skills
have a unique image, have unique ambition
and they can all bring a different dimension to
the whole ethos of the film
It’s this… it’s almost this kinda idea that only
able-bodied people, neurotypical people can
kinda fake being disabled
that there’s something almost kinda... admirable
about that, that they should get celebrated
Disabled actors, they’re actors for a reason and
they can portray anything they want
it’s their job
Disabled stories need to be told
and someone who isn’t disabled, they’re not gonna
get the full story
I think media is a powerful thing that sometimes I think
we take for granted and I think if you’re going to
use disabilities as someone’s
storyline make sure you do it right because you can
cause a big misconception about it or folk get the
wrong information
I think we need to have more role models, I think we need
to have more pioneers
they are the game changer of the industry
if you’ve got somebody who has exceptional talent
that would really get people stepping up and talking
If a character’s written in a script as able-bodied and
a disabled actor comes in and they’re perfect for the role
it should be about the talent, and the actor and their skill
not, not their disability
Disabled creators, disabled filmmakers and actors and that
they need to have a voice because their voice has
been ignored for so long for these tiny slithers of
representation that just aren’t the full picture
It’s time for change
Inclusion and diversity are paramount to addressing
equality for all
I think that in media and in film, they focus on the
disability and they should be focusing on the person
Like it’s always a big thing, where in my life my disability
I try and make it a secondary
I’m not my disability, I’m a person
I think it’s important for disabilities to be represented
in film and TVs because it's a great way of raising awareness
and make it clear
“Hey there’s different disabilities out there
let’s give them a space to talk about it and portray
it in an accurate way”
cause it can help people, it can give people reassurance
If their character can do it, then why the hell can I not do it
If you are trying to portray anything that is about the
human experience, then it has to be about the diversity that
makes humanity, humanity… and
What’s the point of doing a film or doing a TV show
if you’re just gonna tell the same stories over and over again?
There’s so many different ways to be a person and TV and film
are really missing out on capturing that and it’s
it’s their loss to be honest
I think TV and film have a huge role to play
Everybody is unique, and we can all play a role in influencing
the broadcasting of film and TV