Abled Body Where can-do is done different

I’m a product of the MTV generation, and last night’s “Wheels” episode of Glee blew me away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a music video cute boy in a wheelchair roll cooly through a high-school cafeteria in slow motion while singing a Billy Idol song, and then pop and spin through the hall as he rocked out to ’80s music. Kevin McHale, who plays Artie Abrams, a paraplegic in Fox’s Glee, turned the number into a powerful acknowledgment that having a physical disability can make you feel like an outcast among your own kind. This truth is intensified in high school, where, among the esteemed cheerleaders and football players, you struggle to fit in and find your place.   Artie has a dilemma. He wants to join the rest of the Glee Club for an off-site competition, but the school cannot afford an accessible van. Sure, Artie’s dad can drive him separately, ... keep reading »