Well developed characters with disabilities can challenge society’s stereotypes and assumptions about disability, while more simplistic characters with disabilities can serve purposes within the narrative of a text – such as exploring discrimination or the themes of trauma and injury.
The drama ‘House MD’ is a medical-mystery show. Conditions and symptoms are presented as physical puzzles that can only be solved by Dr House and his team of experts.
House walks with a cane and is addicted to painkillers. He is not a typical TV doctor – he is rude to patients and usually tries to push the boundaries of acceptable medical practice – often having to be stopped by his team, his boss (Dr Cuddy) and his friend (Dr Wilson).
In the series 3 episode ‘Meaning’, House treats a former cancer patient who drove his wheelchair into a swimming pool.
