Media Coverage of people with disabilities

For this week's blog, I visited the Society for Professional Journalists' website, to see how we as journalists are suposed to handle these types of situations. I learned that it is more important to use someone with a disability as a source for a story, rather than using them as the inspiration for a story. It can often be upseting to someone with a disability to be treated as a "supercrip" because the media highlights them continuing on with their everyday life as some kind of miracle. Having a diverse group of sources for a story is important, and getting an opinion or quote from someone with a disability adds to that diversity.
When covering a story about the construction of a new building, it is also important to make sure that the architecture meets federal law and is accessible to handicapped people, which account for about 20% of the American population.
I think that stereotypes about people with disabilities do come from the media. These people are always portrayed as the victim-turned-hero, just because they have the desire to carry on with life. I always find stories like this inspirational, but am now seeing the subject in a new light after reading the information on this SPJ website. More reporters and journalists should use the tips provided on the SPJ website, so that American's aren't confined to single-minded stereotypes about people with disabilities.