For many years, advocates have been working for the inclusion of people with disabilities to be represented in the media as both central characters and extras so that what we see in commercials, movies, television shows, newspapers and magazines more accurately reflect our communities.

In a recent article featuring Sesame Street writer Emily Perl Kingsley, she pointed out that people with disabilities are the largest minority group in the United States, and includes individuals who represent all backgrounds and social classes.

As parents and extended family members, we are especially aware of the rarity of children with any disability being shown as a natural part of classrooms or communities that are shown in the media.

The invisibility of children with disabilities on television and movies affects our sons and daughters as well as their brothers, sisters, cousins and classmates. Other children and teens are strongly influenced by representations of their peer group in the media, and the exclusion of anyone who uses a wheelchair or has Down syndrome creates more challenges for our youth than the disability.

Mainstream children and teens continue to casually use derogatory words that are offensive to their peers with developmental disabilities where such comments involving race, ethnicity, gender and even weight are strongly discouraged.

Organizations and task force participants who work in our communities to eliminate hate crimes and tension between ethnic groups often reflect the disregard of the media for people with disabilities in our communities. We will not be successful in creating vibrant, inclusive neighborhoods when the largest minority in each one is forgotten or dismissed.

Most children and teens with disabilities are just ordinary young people going about the business of growing up with all the hopes, dreams, and challenges of their mainstream peers, siblings and cousins. It is certainly not too much to ask to have media representation in commercials, television and movie scenes, print ads and articles that all other groups have struggled for civil rights can expect.

Individuals with disabilities should be shown in the media as representatives of every culture, class and origin. Our sons and daughters deserve to see individuals who look like them as well as those who benefit from the same accommodations, support or technology.

Our children will no doubt always identify with main characters and greatest level of fantasy just like their mainstream peers. They should also have a representative in that main character's circle of friends, classmates or family who are casually accepted as all children and teens wish to be in real life.

One of the greatest bits of advice I heard in mainstream Mommy and Me classes when my children were preschoolers was to give them in wishes what they might never have in reality. When we are successful in persuading casting agencies, advertisers and writers that including youth with disabilities in representations of all ethnic groups and social situations that are presented in the media, some of those wishes might become possible in the real world.

Everybody is enjoying Brett Banford's appearance on "So You Think You Can Dance" now available on YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=aMuZdT9XaMg# and at
PatriciaBauer.com - Utah man 'represents' for people with disabilities in dance contest
http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/05/29/utah-man-represents-for-people-with-disabilities-in-dance-contest/#more-2204

Books on acting and auditioning can be found at local libraries, bookstores, and online booksellers like Amazon.com -
Acting and Performance Arts



New Civil Rights Movement: Passionate Crusade for Inclusion of People with Disabilities
Pam Vetter interviews Emily Kingsley about including people with disabilities in commercials, movies and television shows
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=47129

One Woman Never Takes ‘No’ for an Answer as She Fights for Rights of Performers with Disabilities
Pam Vetter interviews Gail Williamson about rights of performers with Down syndrome and other disabilities to represent themselves in commercials, movies and television shows
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/48379

L. A. Times April 7, 2008 - Pictured: Actors Chris Burke and Michael Rankin
Hollywood's doors opening for actors with disabilities
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-acting7apr07,0,5237445,full.story

Australia and UK:
" The Music in Me " is an international award-winning documentary about the Sydney dance troupe the Merry Makers, all of whom have intellectual or multiple disabilities. Lots of people with Down syndrome belong to Merry Makers. It will be screened across Australia a special on Andrew Denton's " Enough Rope " on Monday 9th June 2008, 9.35 pm, on ABC1.

Down Syndrome in Arts and Media - Talent, Referrals, Consultation, Advocacy
http://www.dsiam.org

Dionysus Theatre - Houston

Yellow Brick Road documentary - ANCHOR Acting Troupe (Answering the Needs of Citizens with Handicaps through Organized Recreation)

Sprout Film Festival - New York
Media Access Awards Presented by the California Governor's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities