From the one-armed presenter Cerrie Burnell joining CBeebies to James Partridge – who has a facial disfigurement – reading the lunchtime news on Five, disability in the media has itself been the subject of intense media interest in 2009. Channel 4's comedy Cast Offs is likely to add more column inches to the issue when it starts tomorrow.
Penned by writers from Skins and The Thick of It, the series features six disabled characters marooned on an island, including a blind man, a woman with cherubism and a paraplegic man. Each character is played by a disabled actor with the same disability, and one complains about the number of non-disabled actors portraying disabled people: "Spacking up is the blacking up of the 21st century."
Liz Sayce, chief executive of the Royal Association of Disability Rights (Radar), says: "There is likely to be a storm of comment from disabled people and non-disabled people alike over Cast Offs. Some disabled people will find it funny and real – portraying disabled people as adults who swear, drink and have sex. A real break from covering disability with kid gloves, or not covering it at all. Others may well find it offensive."
While the on-screen portrayal of disabled people often hits the headlines, the media's efforts to help disabled people become more media-savvy get less coverage. One of the few arenas where it is recognised is at next Monday's Radar awards, where the guests will include Alastair Campbell and Frank Gardner.
The shortlisted entries in the media category include CBBC's ground-breaking Accessible Newsreader website (bbc.co.uk/cbbc/newsreader/), which combines innovative hardware and software to make news stories and the internet more accessible for disabled viewers. The site creates a non-scrolling series of web pages that move forwards and backwards with a single click; via a USB, disabled users can click through in various ways, ranging from blowing through a straw to tapping a switch.
The Accessible Newsreader also has a computer-generated voice that automatically reads out the news stories. Designer Ian Hamilton explains: "The concept came from a special needs teacher. Autistic children who have a hard time making connections have responded really well. We found during testing that they focused on the stories and were able to answer comprehension questions afterwards."
Not headline-grabbing fodder for the tabloids but, as Hamilton says, a real breakthrough for disabled users and their teachers and parents.
