alianora: Sakurai Sho from Arashi, hand over one eye (BRAILLE: WTF)
alianora ([personal profile] alianora) wrote2009-01-02 11:31 pm

I Call Upon the Power of The Internets!

Hi, my favorite people! I need some help, please.

As a special ed teacher, I get rather..irrationally excited when I come across a story, book, tv show, or movie where there is a major character with a disability. I would really love to find more, but to do so, I need your help.

If you happen to know of a book - kid's book, picture book, novel, whatever - a tv show, asian drama, movie, pamphlet, song, WHATEVER - that has a person with a disability as a MAJOR CHARACTER (not main, necessarily, just major), would you please tell me about it?

Now, to clarify: I'm not looking for things like "Radio," or "Riding the Bus with My Sister," so much as I'm looking for things like "Sue Thomas, F.B.EYE," or "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." But whatever you can think of, please share.



Here's my very partial list, which I hope you will help me add to:

Deaf:
Sue Thomas, F.B.EYE - tv - main character
Summer Snow - jdrama - brother
She's All That - tv - brother
Hear No Evil, See No Evil - movie - main
Orange Days - jdrama - main


Blindness:
Hear No Evil, See No Evil - movie - main
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken - movie - main
Blade Trinity - movie - major character


Emotional/Behavioral:
Torey L Hayden books


Autism:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - book - main
Kristy and the Secret of Susan - book - main
Marathon - jmovie - main


Developmental:
What's Eating Gilbert Grape - movie - brother
The Other Sister - movie - main
South Park - tv - Timmy
I Am Sam - movie - main


Downs Syndrome:
Life Goes On - tv - main

Physical:
Vorkosigan novels - Bujold - main - dwarfism, brittle bones, possible bipolar
South Park - tv - Jimmy
Summer Snow - jdrama - main - medical heart condition
The Station Agent - movie - main - dwarfism
Joan of Arcadia - tv - brother - paraplegic



Drama people, I would LOVE to know of more dramas with people with disabilities.

[identity profile] magelette.livejournal.com 2009-01-03 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
The Babysitter's Club books involving Matt Braddock, who's deaf.
Or Kristy and the Secret of Susan, about an autistic girl

Two of my short stories feature a girl who has Asperger's. "And A Chook Shall Lead Them" and "Sliding Down the Pohutukawa Root."

I also found this list: http://www.springfieldlibrary.org/reading/disabled.html

Hope that helps a little bit!

[identity profile] aliaspiral.livejournal.com 2009-01-03 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
I cant remember how major of a character Matt is..will have to go look back into BSC, because it's been YEARS since Ive read them.

ooh! Kristy and the Secret of Susan! I forgot all about that one!

where would i find the shorts, dear one?

ooh, cool list! Thank you!

[identity profile] magelette.livejournal.com 2009-01-03 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
Sliding Down the Pohutukawa Root
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1697

And a Chook Shall Lead Them is part of an anthology, but there is an e-Version of it
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1229

Matt wasn't a huge character, but he did get his own book in Jessi and the Secret Language

[identity profile] magelette.livejournal.com 2009-01-03 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
More: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/learning-disabilities/reading/5316.html

Logan from Dark Angel was paraplegic and in a wheelchair.

Whatserface from Birds of Prey -- comic or shortlived tv show, take your pick -- was also paralyzed and wheelchair bound

Annie, the blind girl on Dark Angel for one episode (second season), played by Dee from BSG.

Ike from Young Riders is mute.

Did anyone mention Corky from Life Goes On with Downs Syndrome?

[identity profile] aliaspiral.livejournal.com 2009-01-03 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
Hee! I was just adding Ike to the list!

and im not looking for one episode people, so much as major characters throughout.

hmm..the little girl in a Stephen King movie is blind..the one in the airport? what the heck is that called? *ponders*

and yep, figures I would forget Corky. duh.

[identity profile] caitn.livejournal.com 2009-01-03 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
The Stephen King movie is called "The Langoliers."

And there was a Hallmark channel movie on TV recently called "Front of the Class." The main character had Tourettes.