forum Things you've seen authors do wrong with people with disabilities?

Started May 08, 2018 by @Moxie group

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Do any people with physical disabilities have anything that they hate when authors do for characters with disabilities?

Well I don't have a disability myself, but I'm involved in serving at a camp for special needs families. And I absolutely hate Me Before You.

I guess as someone with Aspergers a pet peeve of mine is that media only seems to portray us as one certain way. For me, my disability makes me really quiet and awkward, I hate starting conversations, and making friends is hard for me.

Most pop culture characters with aspergers that I know of are more… I guess a bit obnoxious? Not that this isn’t correct, but Aspergers is different for everyone and it would be good to see some characters that aren’t just carbon copies of Abed Nadir from Community.

Play into stereotypes to much instead of investigating past them.

I don´t have a disability but I hate when a character´s disability keeps being brought up like that´s their only trait or them being used as a token just to say ´diversity´.

The trope of, "Nooooooo I can't take my pills because that will make me BORING and RUIN ME angst"
I have ADHD and hands down the best part of my day is taking my pills. When you've got a mental disability/disorder…you don't just turn down something THAT HELPS YOU FUNCTION BETTER.

The trope of, "Nooooooo I can't take my pills because that will make me BORING and RUIN ME angst"
I have ADHD and hands down the best part of my day is taking my pills. When you've got a mental disability/disorder…you don't just turn down something THAT HELPS YOU FUNCTION BETTER.

I agree with this meds for my add adhd helped me integrate and make friends better. When I was maybe 6-9 that's when I didn't like taking my meds but justifyingly so because when you are at that age you just really don't know/understand why your taking them. When I was those ages I would skip my pills so I could eat because they would make me super nauseous and not hungry. All so I could eat a dang sandwich, but you hit about pre-pubescence to teens and you see opportunity to fit in.

You should start with the person… And then place these obstacles in their way.
It's actually a mini drama just like whatever you're making up.
If you wanna have it unfold, a timeline for this character is essential.
Did they start out strong and go gradually batshit? how do they cope?
How have the constant denial of action twisted and behavior modified them?
What's their empathy level? Helps to know some abnormal psych.
Medications all have side effects. Know those for your character.
The daily mood rhythm of someone on meds means you'll seldom meet the same person twice.
I speak from deep experience.

• "Medication is a bad thing, it'll hurt you!" Nooo, if you have the wrong medication, then that's bad. I agree with LadySeshiiria & Blossom_Utonium, medication helps me so much and I am a mess when I'm off of it
• Just, stereotypes with disabilities in general, and then disabilities that aren't covered at all. I have ADHD- inattentive, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (never shown in books or shows), and 65-70% hearing loss in my right ear and wear a hearing aid (again, only seen hearing loss covered in a fan fiction- no shows or books). On one hand, no stereotypes, but on the other hand, no relatability.

I guess as someone with Aspergers a pet peeve of mine is that media only seems to portray us as one certain way. For me, my disability makes me really quiet and awkward, I hate starting conversations, and making friends is hard for me.

Most pop culture characters with aspergers that I know of are more… I guess a bit obnoxious? Not that this isn’t correct, but Aspergers is different for everyone and it would be good to see some characters that aren’t just carbon copies of Abed Nadir from Community.

I agree. Aspergers affects people differently (like any condition will) and I'm sick of seeing the same tropes and stereotypes used again and again.

• Characters who don't take medication because it will 'ruin their personality'. Mental illness isn't something that can be tacked on because the author is too lazy to write a personality! It also sends a bad message to mentally ill kids who might be reading the book, telling them they're only interesting when they're not getting help. I have characters who aren't on meds myself, but that's because 1 lives in a dystopia and so meds aren't a thing and you see that it's bad for her not to be on meds because she puts herself and others in danger, and 1 who's afraid to reach to people and get meds and she also can't afford them/doesn't want to talk to a therapist or anyone about her problems. She warms up to the idea of talking to someone over time and does eventually get help.
• Characters whose sole purpose is to show able-bodied and/or neurotypical characters how 'lucky' they are.
• Characters healed with magic
• CHARACTERS WHOSE ONLY PERSONALITY TRAIT IS THAT THEY'RE MENTALLY ILL AND/OR DISABLED!

I hate the way I see OCD portayed.
It's always someone who's really perfectionistic and obsessed with cleaning, and sure there are some people with OCD like that, but not all people.
They never show the executive dysfunction, hardly show the intrusive thought panics, or the anxiety attacks. I hardly ever see people with OCD in the media having rituals to help them cope (even though this is a trademark of the disorder), I never see them counting in their heads or outloud to be able to do something as simple as walking somewhere, getting a pill down, or even peeing when I know I have to count for stuff like that constantly, and so does my mom who also has it.