Observations From Below: Giving a Voice to Those with CP

New personal care assistants (PCA’s) always bring new experiences. One of the things I’m now doing is listening to NPR. Last week they had a TV critic explaining why he thinks today’s television is so great, and I agreed with him. In full disclosure, I go through periods where I don’t watch much TV. But it’s refreshing that I’ve noticed an increase of shows including individuals with disabilities. I’m not the only one to see this growth on TV either. One of my favorite disability news sources, DisabilityScoop.Com has covered this trend well, stating that are now 15 different primetime programs including individuals with disabilities this year as opposed to just eight shows during the 2015-2016 period.

I particularly enjoy ABC’s newest show Speechless. This show focuses on a high school student who has cerebral palsy named J.J. Dimeo and his family. The reason I not only enjoy but respect what they’re doing is that everyone involved has gone above and beyond to make the show as authentic as possible. The creator/writer of the show, Scott Silvery, has personal experience with disability due to growing up with a brother with special needs. The show’s portrayal of the life of individuals with cerebral palsy began by hiring an actor who actually has cerebral palsy. You would be surprised how rare that is. In addition to starring the actor Micah Fowler, the show reached out the Cerebral Palsy Foundation for expert advice.

I discovered that at the end of each show, they place content and resources that pertain to topics brought up during each evening’s episode, which can be found on the Cerebral Palsy Foundation’s website. I’ve never heard of a show going to these type of measures, just to spread awareness, and I think it’s fantastic. I can vouch for the accuracy of Speechless, as I have been through many of the similar experiences depicted on the show. One of the best examples of this occurs in the first episode. It happens when J.J. is forced to use the garbage ramp in order to enter his high school, as it was the only accessible entrance. His mother Maya, played by Minnie Driver, has an angry confrontation with the high school principal. My grandmother had a similar interaction with my high school principal when I first started going to Reagan High School. The only difference was that in my case, it involved an elevator that didn’t work. I have also had to use alternate entrances to numerous restaurants and other public accommodations.

A humorous television show allows people to reflect on serious issues in an approachable way. One of my favorite things about the show is that they’re not always trying to be comical. One example is when J.J.’s father, Jimmy is having a conversation with his able-bodied younger brother, Ray about shame and embarrassment, and why he shouldn’t experience any. He explains how I think many young parents feel upon hearing the initial diagnosis of their special-needs child, and how it completely changes their outlook when the doctor explains to them of all the many things their child won’t be able to do. The father breaks it down to his brother that the small things in life don’t mean as much. Another example of a serious conversation that occurs is between J.J. and his personal care assistant, Kenneth. This conversation is about love, with Kenneth trying to be encouraging as well as a good wingman. J.J. explains how his interactions with women typically wind up with them only wanting to be just friends. If you have been reading my previous blogs, this illustrates a very similar topic that I wrote a while ago in reference to my relationships.

I was glad to see the show had large viewership to be renewed for another season. I am also delighted that people found this interesting, and I just hope they don’t beat me a good blog topic before I can I tell my own story. One more cool thing I realized is how they structure their episode titles. J.J. is unable to speak, so he uses a laser pointer affixed to his head which points to a communication board (which oddly reminds me of an Ouija Board) to let his helper speak on his behalf. Although I can speak, I used to own one of these apparatuses, so I can relate to him. The title of each episode starts out like J.J. is trying to spell a word, and the helper guesses correctly. For instance: “H-A-L –HALLOWEEN” and “B-O-N –BONFIRE.” Brilliant! There’s a subtle message I think, and that is J.J. is telling his story and living his own life. That is one final takeaway that we can all learn from. I hope to see this show for many more seasons, and hopefully, see his transition into college. If you are reading this Mr. Silvery, please feel free to contact me for any pointers, and thank you for creating such a fantastic show that hits home.

That’s how I roll