Sigh. I have yet to read a book where the (non #OwnVoices) disability rep was handled well. As a disabled person it is so exhausting when the only disability rep is handled poorly.

I'm feeling generous so, when writing disabled characters please avoid doing the following:
(1/?)

1. If a POV character is disabled and you the author are not, please cool it with the internalized ableism. I promise you disabled people don't all hate ourselves. Sometimes we even think about things OTHER than how much we hate being disabled
(2/?)

2. Please don't make the disabled character out to be a huge burden. Don't talk about how embarrassed others are of them or how much easier the other characters' lives would be if that character wasn't disabled. I feel like I shouldn't have to say this one but here we are.
(3/?)

3. No magical cures for disability. Ask yourself why you feel the need to do this. Disabled people don't all want to be cured, and most of us never will be even if we did want to. Plus, we wanna fantasize about riding dragons and having magic just as much as the next person
(4/?)

3 cont. ...so seeing the only people we can relate to being magically cured just sends the message that we don't belong in fantasy settings. I promise it's cooler to have a magical disabled character than it is to have magic make them conveniently not disabled anymore.
(5/?)

4. Don't make your only disabled character evil.

5. Don't make your only disabled character into a joke.

6. OBVIOUSLY DON'T KILL OFF THE ONLY DISABLED CHARACTER.
(6/?)

And please, PLEASE get sensitivity readers! Bad rep is worse than no rep.

These are just a few examples off the top of my head, and I know I'm missing a ton.

If you know of any books with #OwnVoices disability rep, please do let me know in the comments!
(end)