In the last week, I've seen several big media moments involving youth with disabilities. The ones that got the most attention happened yesterday, during the Super Bowl. Microsoft aired a commercial about Braylon O'Neill, 6, a child born without tibia or fibula bones in his legs who is full of abilities. Braylon has state-of-the-art prosthetic legs, and he kicks butt in sports:
McDonald's Super Bowl commercial included a girl with Down syndrome, along with a bunch of other customers randomly filmed at two locations in Illinois. Check out minute :49, where her family is told their payment is "one family hug":
I'd first seen the commercial a couple of days ago, on Disability Scoop. Part of me wished it weren't such a big McDeal. Grace Ramsburg, 8, and her family happened to be at the restaurant because families of kids with special needs eat out, as families do. Grace has a great smile, just like kids in ads tend to have. She belonged in that commercial, right along with all the other customers psyched about getting some free McD's. But the reality is, it's still rare for kids with disabilities to appear in television ads, let alone ones airing on the biggest TV night of the year.
Like many parents of kids with special needs, I long to see them included in every aspect of life—commercials and all. Companies have been using cute kids in ads since forever. Why shouldn't they include cute kids with disabilities? Why shouldn't it be the norm?
I had inclusion on the brain as I watched that Uptown Funk dance video that went viral last week, the one choreographed by teacher Scot Pankey of A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School in Dallas. He roped in his theater classes to do a choreographed version of the Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars hit. "You have to see the teen around minute 2:00," a friend had told me. And yes, there he was at minute 1:48, a student using a walker to the right of Pankey. He's at minute 4:13, too.
This is inclusion as I dream of it: an ordinary, organic thing. Someday, I hope it will no longer make headlines when kids with special needs appear in ads, because that would mean it's completely typical.
They conveniently stick the needies on the front row so that PC idiots like you and your cackling hens will jump and down shouting "see!!! We ARE special" then run out and buy their product. It is actually very smart of the advertisers because they know all they have to do is put a needy into the ad and presto! - Instant Clueless Clucks PC-Clan following. And you swallowed it hook, line, and sinker LOL
ReplyDeleteNo amount of advertising will make we willing eat McDonald's ever. However, I am extremely glad that there's a child with special needs in their ad. It "normalizes" them, it shows people that although some families are different from them, we all do the same things. We all go to eat at McNasty's. We all go to high school and dance in silly viral videos. We all play sports. We al have fun. We all do stuff with our family.
DeleteHad to delete original for a spelling error-hate that! lol
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Ellen is saying just the opposite here. That our kids with special needs are the norm, not the exception to the rule and therefore there shouldn't be a ticker tape parade every time a child with a disability is seen doing something as normal as eating at McD's. (not to speak for you Ellen). At any rate, anon, happy trolling and good day to you.
You are nice to even bother responding, Joanna (and you summed it up perfectly). I doubt this person could care less. People like him/her/it only want to spew hate or they're ignorant or they're both, and this one seems to fit the "both" category. Hmmm, who's the needy one here? How pitiful. I'm deleting these comments going forward.
DeletePoor widdle biddy ellen :( I am affecting her bottom line with my truthful comments and since she makes a living off her "special" son she won't be able to take as many free vacations if she does not delete the Truth.
DeleteJoanna, think about it dear. If ellen was trying to proclaim that needies are "the norm" then she would not have written the article SPECIFICALLY POINTING OUT the needies in the ads. The ads do not begin with "and here's a tribute to the special needs community".
Just because you PC whiny idiots do not like the Truth, that does not make my comments "trolling". Yes, we understand that ellen started this website out of guilt for saying she wanted her gorked out son dead whenever he was not born perfect and she now makes a living off her sons "Special Needs", but there still are people out here who see through you people. You claim to want "equality" yet in reality you scream about how "special" you are. You claim to want to be treated the same as everyone else yet in reality you scream about not getting enough special attention. Certain things in life simply are and they will never change. People may pay lip service to you for political correctness but the majority of the world will always see you people as less. You will always be the people who drain our disability systems. You will always be the people who raise our insurance premiums because we are having to pay for your healthcare. You will always be the people who can never accept that you will never be as good at XYZ than the rest of the world but whine your way to the front of the line.
Go ahead and delete my comments because you cannot delete reality. You cannot delete Truth. You cannot delete fact. You cannot change the looks people give you and the thoughts they may not say out loud but that you can still hear. You are the trolls because you use your kids "special needs" to get your way and make yourselves feel better but, of course, you will never admit the Truth.
I think she points them out to show the world that people with disabilities can lead fulfilling lives, have fun, and do other "typical" things. I find little truth value in your comments, which may have been obscured by your confrontational diction. There are more tactful ways to disagree with someone and tell another side to a truth. For example, try to empathize with the blogger and experience their perspective. Saying something along the lines of "I understand that you want to promote this, but it came across to me this way" is less likely to be seen as troll-ish than saying "Stupid PC cluckers draining our funds". Getting "her way" is more about helping Max than about her own benefit.
DeleteThis is great. Plus there was the Amy Purdy(Para Olympian) Toyota commercial and in the longer (not shown) Toyota "Dads" commercial(its on youtube) one of the kids is in a wheelchair.
ReplyDeleteDid not see those—will check them out. Thanks, Kathryn!
Deletei too love it and wish it wasn't a big deal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I love that media outlets aren't hung up on the fact that there's a disabled kid in the video, and they're more focused on that it's just fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteCool!!! In the GIF, you can see that the person with the walker anticipates the dance unlike the other who appear to react. This shows that a mobility device is not an inherent indicator of lower intelligence.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Anna! A mobility device tells you nothing about a person's level of intelligence.
DeleteReminds me of my kids' dojo. There is no official, advertised program, but every class is inclusion. If you know what to look for, you will see one or two SN kids in every class, including some more advanced belts. And the accommodation is so smooth and unremarked-upon.
ReplyDelete