Ms Claire Kenny:

The media has a big part to play in how non-disabled people see disability and how disabled people see themselves. Meaningful representation is everything. If I cannot see myself represented in the media and the media represents society, I cannot see myself in society. As a young disabled person, a typical question your parents ask you is what do you want to be when you grow up. As a young disabled person, my answer straight away is, "A librarian", and my mother says, "But Claire, you do not even like reading". I say that because I can sit down at a desk and no-one will see that I am different. There are three ways that disabled people are always portrayed. They are portrayed as superhuman, as needing to overcome their impairment or as needing to be cured. That is really harmful and it needs to change.