The Invisible Minority: Portrayals of Physical Disability on Children's Television Programming


Author:

• Bradley J. Bond (Univ of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract:

The current study content analyzed 407 episodes of children's programming to better understand what children could be learning about people with physical disabilities from television. Findings reveal characters with a physical disability are rare, tended to be older males whose disability is not central to the character's importance, but the characters themselves are not central to the plot. The characters are depicted as morally good, attractive, satisfied with life, and as equals to able-bodied characters.