As a member of "Hollywood," and a disabled guy, I challenge people with disabilities to create their own positive portrayals and put them up on YouTube. It works. I've gotten a lot of press, and had several doors in Hollywood opened to me because of the TV pilot I wrote, produced and starred in called "The Hollywood Quad." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1541895/ I especially challenge those who say they don't know how to act or write, because at one point I didn't either. Don't hide your creative light in the shadows, share your ideas with the world. It's amazing what can happen.

@jimtroesh - nice to meet you! And you're right, being more pro-active, ie writing, getting involved, is the only way this will change. What's your YouTube channel?

Hi Tiff -- As Jim noted here (and long ago in one of my NM articles) the only way to counter this is to write a script so uniquely expressive from our perspective that SOMEONE would dare make a film about it. The prevailing attitudes remain a huge barrier, but at some point in the next decade we'll see a breakthrough when genuine talent overrides the resistance and ignorance that results in able-bodied Artie on "Glee." Even the Brooke movie was "good" but "bad" in that it was pro-disability but also sentimentally inspirational, so in the end was it really that good? Bottom line: EVERY decision in Hollywood comes down to money. So, you've got to ask: How can I convince them (executives) that my fantastic pro-disability script will appeal to the masses? That's a VERY tall order, as evident in the fact that nobody's done it yet.

@jefshan - well said. To answer your question, "How can I convince them (executives) that my fantastic pro-disability script will appeal to the masses?," my answer (and the go-to to all Hollywood films looking to make a buck): Sex appeal and violence. Look at Rose McGowan's amputee character in Grindhouse; making disability hot and killing guys with her machine gun leg. That totally worked! Maybe write a script about a sexy guy in a wheelchair, make him in charge of a drug cartel (to draw in the curious yet bloodthitrsty masses), then write some poignant pro-disability scenes in there, hidden, so the people aren't even realizing they're getting schooled on how disability isn't imho suicide-inducing. I NEED TO WRITE THIS. :)

One of my favorite movies is "The Water Dance" with Eric Stoltz, Helen Hunt, Wesley Snipes and William Forsythe. The movie is about people with spinal cord injuries going thru rehab. As a T2-T3 Para, I felt this movie really did a good job of portraying the emotional aspects of such a major life change. Of course my favorite part is when they get PO'd and go after the hospital telephone staff.