Accessible live music and music education: Learnings from our work with Music & Health Ireland
We are delighted to share two essential resource guides created from our involvement with the Notes & Signsproject – for venues on hosting accessible performances, and for teachers, musicians, and schools on inclusive music education.
The resources highlight the collective learnings on providing multiple modes of access and methods of interpretation at live music events and in education settings to support Deaf and Disabled audience members and musicians. Our goal is to help venues support the D/deaf community to experience and enjoy their events more equitably and accessibly, and to ensure Deaf children have access to music education.
The Notes & Signs project: A collaborative effort
The Notes & Signs project is a Music & Health Ireland (M&HI) initiative, delivered in collaboration with Audiovisability (AV), with financial support from Rethink Ireland. Tilting the Lens was delighted to provide logistical and facilitation support from 2023 to 2025.
The project was developed to explore and dismantle barriers that d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences and musicians often face when engaging with music in schools, public spaces, and performance settings.
Goal: The primary aim was to work collaboratively to understand how Deaf students could have access to music education and to help venues support the d/Deaf community in experiencing live music more equitably and accessibly, whether as listeners, creators, or performers.
Exploration Areas: Through workshops, interviews, focus groups, and performances, the project explored how to:
Deliver meaningful music experiences in Deaf education settings
Build interpreter confidence and capacity in music contexts
Promote accessible programming in schools and venues
Empower d/Deaf children and their families to fully access music.
Deaf Musician Ruth Montgomery of Audiovisibility and Grainne Hope of Music & Health Ireland host a workshop on music interpretation with ISL Interpreters at the National Concert Hall as part of the Notes & Signs project.
Evolution
The Notes & Signs project began in 2023 as a four-day enquiry-through-engagement. The project brought together key stakeholders, including families, teachers, musicians, Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreters, and arts organisations, to understand real-world barriers and begin designing solutions.
Activities included:
ISL Interpreters Workshops, which involved musicians, dancers, and interpreters
Family music concerts at the National Concert Hall
Workshops in Deaf Schools
Feedback focus group with key stakeholders and funders to discuss outcomes, reflections, and consider ways forward. It was particularly concerning to discover the lack of availability of music education in Deaf Schools.
The project continued in 2024 with further workshops with ISL interpreters, to consider ways to build comfort in the interpreter community to provide interpretation at music events.
Evaluation and key outcomes
Resource Guides
The project culminated in two essential resource guides that serve as legacy outputs. The guides were written and produced by M&HI and Tilting the Lens.
The first guide is for venues on hosting accessible performances. It outlines practical steps and considerations for venues to make their performance events accessible, including:
ISL interpretation for Deaf audiences for both small venues and stadium events
Hearing loops
Real-time Captioning and Surtitles
Supporting Deaf musicians on stage
Making ‘visually quiet’ spaces
Making information accessible.
The second guide focuses on inclusive music education. It outlines guidelines for visual learning, technology, and communication styles to support:
Music teachers working with Deaf or Hard of Hearing students
Visiting musicians delivering inclusive workshops or performances in Deaf Schools
Schools supporting visiting musicians in Deaf education settings
Validation
The documents’ relevance and accuracy were ensured by working with the d/Deaf community and working with ISL interpreters throughout 2023 and 2024.
Key Learnings and Identified Needs (from workshops)
Feedback from participants in the ISL Workshops highlighted the need for:
A “creative commonage”—an agreed lexicon of words for music in ISL in the Irish context.
An app or resource to help interpreters understand the marks, notations, and individual words that appear on a musical score.
More information in advance of a musical performance to help interpreters understand the story or elements being portrayed.
We hope you consider downloading the guides as a helpful resource in your work.
Download the Resource Guides
Supporting D/deaf audiences, musicians, and performers in your venue
This guide is for venues hosting accessible performances. It outlines practical steps and considerations for venues to make their performance events accessible.
Notes & Signs – Inclusive music-making in Deaf education settings
This guide focuses on inclusive music education. It outlines guidelines for visual learning, technology, and communication styles to support:
Music teachers working with Deaf or Hard of Hearing students,
Visiting musicians delivering inclusive workshops or performances in Deaf Schools,
Schools supporting visiting musicians in Deaf education settings.
The Notes & Signs project is a Music & Health Ireland initiative, delivered in collaboration with Audiovisability, with financial support from Rethink Ireland. Tilting the Lens was delighted to provide logistical and facilitation support from 2023 to 2025.
We will email you a link to download a PDF guide to support inclusive music education.
Supporting D/deaf audiences, musicians, and performers in your venue
This guide is for venues hosting accessible performances. It outlines practical steps and considerations for venues to make their performance events accessible including:
ISL interpretation for Deaf audiences for both small venues and stadium events
Hearing loops
Real-time Captioning and Surtitles
Supporting Deaf musicians on stage
Making ‘visually quiet’ spaces
Making information accessible.
The Notes & Signs project is a Music & Health Ireland initiative, delivered in collaboration with Audiovisability, with financial support from Rethink Ireland. Tilting the Lens was delighted to provide logistical and facilitation support from 2023 to 2025.
We will email you a link to download a PDF guide to support D/deaf audiences, musicians, or performers in your venue.
Establishing better standards for hiring: Our accessible and inclusive recruitment process
Tilting the Lens is a strategic accessibility consultancy committed to creating equitable, human-centred system change, it is vital to us that we move beyond merely being compliant when it comes to accessibility and disability inclusion. As a disability-led organisation with a majority-Disabled team, we are deeply invested in ensuring our own hiring practices reflect our core values, and maintain a deep commitment to accessible hiring and working practices.
Below, we lay out some of the ways we build accessibility and inclusion into each step of a recruitment journey:
1. Valuing diverse and lived experience
Tilting the Lens actively seeks out a wide range of lived and professional experiences. We encourage applications from people with a variety of backgrounds, including those with non-traditional work histories or who have experienced barriers to employment.
We place high value on professional, life, and lived experience, meaning we have no expectation of specific education or degree qualifications for roles. We recognise that the path to being the right fit for any role doesn’t always follow a conventional route. We actively welcome applications from Disabled candidates and people often underrepresented in the industries and sectors we work with.
This intentional call out is an example of the sort of language we use in our job descriptions.
2. Offering a transparent, rounded package with key added supports and benefits
Alongside a competitive salary relevant to the role that meets Living Wage parameters, Tilting the Lens assigns resources to provide enhanced sick and disability leave, and enhanced annual leave. Acknowledging that our team may require upskilling or other supports, we also offer an annual education allowance, and monthly wellbeing allowance. The team works remotely and flexibly.
Laying out a clear and bulleted section of all the compensation and benefits of a role, high up in the job description, we hope to demonstrate early our clear intention of supporting people into the role. This also meets the upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive which will be transposed into law in 2026.
3. Being clear in what is expected of a role
Rather than an exhaustive list of tasks, or a broad sweep of soft and hard skills, we try to focus on identifying the key responsibilities of a role, and who the person might be. This might include some statements about what they are experienced doing, what they are highly confident in, and what they have practice in.
4. Eliminating barriers in the application process
We ensure that the application stage is flexible and accessible by removing rigid format requirements. Candidates are welcome to submit applications in multiple formats, including:
Written documents (CVs, cover letters)
Audio or video recordings
Slides or visual portfolios
When applying for roles, we ask candidates to send their CV and a brief cover letter or expression of interest, which can also be provided in written, audio, or video format.
We also try to hire through our own website, giving potential candidates a specific email address if they need accessibility support. This ensures that there is a personal approach to the process.
5. Removing the distraction of the algorithm
Another barrier Tilting the Lens seeks to remove is the inherent bias of the algorithms. When the application period closes, we take a breath and think again about what the key attributes we’re looking for in the candidate for a role. We then read all the applications ourselves, never via AI, seeking out the candidates that might get missed otherwise.
6. Comprehensive commitment to access accommodations
Tilting the Lens explicitly states its commitment to ensuring the recruitment processes are as accessible as possible. The team recognises that access requirements vary and is committed to making adjustments at any stage of the process.
This includes adjustments related to:
How information is shared.
How interviews are conducted.
How assessments (if any) are approached.
Candidates who wish to discuss access needs or require support completing their application are invited to contact the dedicated accessibility email address.
7. Transparency and preparation for interviews
A cornerstone of the accessible interview process is full transparency. When applicants are invited to an interview with us, they are asked at that stage if there are any access accommodations they need to support their success during the meeting. Interviews are typically conducted online, to ensure that people have the access accommodations they need, and can be comfortable, and not flustered or exhausted from travel when we meet.
Before the interview, Tilting the Lens sends a full brief containing essential preparatory information. This brief includes:
The meeting link and log-in details.
Information on who the candidate will meet.
All proposed interview questions.
Sharing the questions in advance is provided as an explicit access accommodation, designed to allow candidates to think about the conversation beforehand and consider the experience and skills they would most like to present on the day. Furthermore, if the preparatory document is inaccessible in any way, the team commits to sending it in a different format.
Giving the questions in advance supports both the applicant to prepare for the interview, but we also find it helps get to the quality content more quickly, and allows us to fairly compare the candidates.
For the virtual meetings, the interviews are proposed via the Zoom platform, which includes captioning and transcription support. If Zoom is not accessible to a candidate, Tilting the Lens will support an alternative platform that is.
8. Over-communicating rather than under-communicating
We all get anxious when we have a vacuum of information. Tilting the Lens communicates with all candidates at each step of the process, so you know we have received your application, what stage we’re at in our deliberations, and crucially, if we’re going to take a bit longer to get back to you.
9. Inclusion beyond hiring: working practices
The commitment to inclusion extends past the recruitment stage and into the role itself. Tilting the Lens offers ongoing accessibility accommodation support for employees, including access to assistive technology or adjustments as needed.
By designing a recruitment process that is deeply transparent and committed to individual access needs and diverse experience, Tilting the Lens models the equitable and human-centred systems we champion to our clients, and we attract a more diverse and rich pool of skilled and committed candidates.
Case Study: Unlocking recruitment potential with publicjobs
Enhancing public sector employment for Disabled talent in Ireland
How we co-designed our new website centering Disabled people and lived experience
We drive system change and build a more equitable world for everyone by design. That means the creation of more accessible practices, policies, products, and services. We must model our own guidance and advice, and so our new accessible website is a tangible example of raising standards and reaching best practice.
The website project started for our team in late 2024 and continued until our soft launch at the end of July 2025. It was a significant undertaking for our small business, but when we began we knew that we wanted to open-source our learnings, and use the process to publish recommendations.
Our outcomes are a collaborative effort. We invested considerable time to find a web design partner who shared our ambition in accessibility, and partnered with New Graphic for impactful, user-centred design and development. We also extended our relationship with Cova Communications, who have been our long-time branding and marketing partner, for content strategy and creation, as well as support on user testing.
Our co-design approach
In our day-to-day consulting practice, our approach uses a framework of co-design. This is where Disabled people are valued as experts in shaping solutions. As a majority-Disabled team, our human-centred design process is by and with Disabled people, never executed ‘for’ them. We value lived experience as intellectual property.
We believe that Disabled expertise is a vital part of the whole design process, not an afterthought, or for auditing when a project is complete. Getting to compliance is only the starting point for us, and when we build with lived experience, we create innovative solutions. We also believe that lived experience deserves fair compensation. Too often, Disabled people are asked to provide feedback without financial recognition. We always ensure that any participants from our research database are paid fairly for their time, insights, and contributions.
Accessibility goals for the new website
We had many business and communication goals for this project and we wrote about why this redesign was needed in “Our Journey to create a beautiful and accessible website”. We set out to prove that appealing and beautiful design does not have to be sacrificed to make an accessible website. And, that a beautiful website can and should provide an enjoyable, comfortable, and independent user experience.
We also had two primary technical accessibility standards that we had to follow.
The new European Accessibility Act standards
With the introduction of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) in June 2025, we wanted to demonstrate how to adhere to the new legislation and standards for digital communication. The EAA came into law across the EU with each member state translating the directive into their own local laws. It was created to improve the minimum standards for accessibility across member states and unify those standards. It also is to ensure that more people have access to essential services, and accessible physical and digital products.
The standard we look at for websites is Standard EN 301 549 which can be applied to any type of ICT-based products and services. This includes software (web pages, mobile applications, desktop applications) and hardware (smartphones, personal computers, information kiosks).
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
We also followed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a universal set of standards created to make web content more accessible. WCAG is not legally binding as it is a set of technical guidelines that are used to support compliance with EAA or other laws globally like the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). It is a framework for creating accessible digital content with detailed success criteria.
Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. It can’t be invisible to all of their senses.
Operable: User interface components and navigation must be able to operate the interface. The interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform.
Understandable: Users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface. The content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding.
Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. As technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible.
We aim to be compliant with WCAG version 2.2, fulfilling the A and AA requirements, which is the minimum standard for accessible websites. AAA is the highest level of accessibility but some of the success criteria are very strict or depend on user needs that can be in conflict with each other. Because of this, meeting all AAA requirements for every part of a site isn’t always possible. Where it was possible to meet AAA criteria, we implemented solutions.
The requirements we set for the project
We focused our efforts on delivering a digital experience that meets the following requirements:
Can be viewed on multiple devices
Can be navigated using a keyboard only
Can be magnified effectively up to 300%
Content can be translated to other languages
Compatible with commonly-used screen reader technologies
Visual assets have alternative text and captions
Imagery is not the only method of conveying essential information and there is an alternative format provided
Video and audio content have subtitles and transcripts available
Forms that are fully accessible integrated with third party platforms
Neurodivergence and cognitive disabilities are considered for technology compatibility and content creation.
Our recommendations to add to your accessible design process
The insights from our four rounds of testing during the research, design, and development phases of the project, directly informed crucial decisions. Aside from the WCAG and EAA criteria checklist, here is our advice to bring to your own design process to improve access.
Test with Disabled people from the beginning: Be open to learn and change direction, and not just validate what you already believe. If you can, speak to your testers to clarify and expand on their challenges and feedback for a deeper understanding of the problem.
Lived experience is intellectual property: No matter what size your team is, you can engage in user testing and research. There is so much to learn online, standards to follow and lots of quantitative user testing findings. However, if you can, testing with Disabled people with lived experience can fundamentally shape your innovation and solutions. It is vital to understand that this is valuable work that can lead to innovation and we must ensure it is paid, respectful, and community-led.
Examine your brand elements: Accessibility begins with your core brand elements – colour and fonts. The best time to check them is during a branding project and the second best time is now.
Review your testing questions: Look at the language you are using when testing. Is it biased or leading? In early stages it is important to ask open inviting questions in order to explore common barriers and uncover challenges in other solutions. Your question sets the expectation for the answer.
Content and cognitive load: Finding the balance between offering choices to participants and not overwhelming them, is an important discovery process. Reducing the cognitive load had a positive impact on participants and they were more engaged in browsing content as a result.
Consistent styling: Implementing a cohesive, simple, and intuitive visual language reduces friction for your audience. Your designs become more operable and understandable as they are able to predict what action will occur.
More variation and personal experience: Check how robust your accessibility is by having participants test remotely on their personal devices. Development teams will never be able to replicate the variety of combinations of assistive technology that Disabled people use in their daily life.
Our accessibility statement and ongoing work
Accessibility is a continuous and evolving practice. Our work doesn’t end with the website launch. It’s important to us that we are transparent around the steps we are taking to continually improve digital access. We are committed to continuous review, updating, and improvement of our website’s accessibility and usability.
Currently, in September 2025, we are conducting a further external independent audit to verify the standards and goals we set out.
We are also updating our internal content guidelines and updating our content archive where older media (PDFs and Videos) may not meet the requirements. We will continue working with assistive technology users to respond to feedback on the website.
Detailed breakdown of the testing outcomes in the co-design process
For designers, developers, and those interested in learning more about accessible digital design, we have put together a detailed breakdown of our four rounds of testing in partnership with Disabled people.
Round 1: The research and wireframe phase
Focus: Review our old website and content. Determine the new site architecture and taxonomy.
Participants: Tilting the Lens team with New Graphic and Cova Communications
Methods: A series of online interactive workshops led by New Graphic, that included card sorting, wireframing, and prioritisation tasks.
Approach
In the research phase, all teams conducted an audit of the old website and created a matrix and prioritisation for things to improve. We looked at external feedback and findings to create an outline for the website we were going to build.
We participated in a series of workshops led by New Graphic, looking at content and information organisation and site architecture so that we could speak about our work clearly and effectively.
Key Insights
Revise the language around our services and clarify our offering
Introduce new features like filters and skip links to aid navigation
Expanding the number of pages to accommodate newer topics like school visits, partnerships and events.
We did sorting and wireframing activities to determine information architecture
Round 2: The visual design phase
Focus: To get feedback on key visual elements, colour palettes, fonts, button designs, and on language use and navigation expectations.
Participants: Disabled research participants with diverse experiences – including Low vision (but not using screenreaders), colour blindness, Neurodivergence, cognitive disabilities, and Dyslexia.
Testing methods: Remote, unmoderated testing via a Google Form with visuals and a link to a static web page. Participants had the option to submit their feedback by form, video or audio recording, or a video call. In some cases, we followed up with a guided video call for deeper insights and an opportunity to explore challenges.
Approach
At this design stage, we had flat visual designs in Figma of our key pages and elements. They weren’t interactive so this limited the types of assistive technology that we could test. What was important to test at this early stage, was our use of language, navigation, and core brand elements.
We needed to check that our internal language and assumptions from our wireframes, for services and navigation etc., were going to be “perceivable” and “understandable” for users from the WCAG principles.
Testing our primary brand elements to make confident decisions was essential before we got to development and wasted time and resources.
We deliberately used the word “comfortable” to assess the tester’s experience rather than “prefer” or a simple binary “yes or no”. We were looking beyond comprehension and compliance, and aiming for a feeling of ease. The use of “comfortable” invited our testers to contemplate the experience they were having and rate it on a personal scale, not a legal one.
When asked to compare two font types for use in longer sentences and paragraphs, 100% of users chose the sans serif in Option B. When asked a similar question about button styles, 80% chose Option A, a black button with white text.
Key insights
There were clear font winners: Feedback highlighted the importance of checking font readability for brand fonts. We tested our fonts against alternative options and we got a clear answer back.
We had too many buttons and styles: Early designs had more button styles with different colours and an outline button option. Again there was a clear format winner but we also got feedback about the consistency of button styling across the site to create easy, predictable pathways.
Too much content was overwhelming: Testers were overwhelmed by our first homepage layout. It was simply too long. We had so much to tell them and thought that by offering them lots of choice it would encourage browsing, but “it feels like you’re throwing everything at me all at once.”
There was too much space between elements: Participants struggled with content proximity when we were leaving large gaps and padding. “I prefer to click-through a menu than to keep scrolling, not knowing if I will find what I need at the bottom”.
Colour compliance standards were “not comfortable”:An interesting finding occurred when asking about comfort and colour contrast for text and background colours. We discovered that as the contrast approached the WCAG standard, participants were able to read the text, but it took more effort and it was not a comfortable user experience.
We needed a dark mode solution: 80% of our testers used dark mode regularly on their devices.
We altered the design for the skip links after testing, even though we wanted less button styles. We discovered that for many users their expectation was that a button shape will bring you away from the page you are on.
Round 3: Navigation and browsing development phase
Focus: This round focused on the accessibility of the main elements – like navigation, menus, written content, and images – and overall browsing experience. We tested a new homepage, and two example case study pages of the live test site on various user devices.
Participants: Disabled people employing a range of assistive technologies such as voice-activated software (Siri, Co Pilot), text-to-speech features on iOS, screen magnifiers, large text, and screen readers (NVDA, Talkback).
Testing methods: Again we used remote, unmoderated testing with a link to a live test site. Participants had the option to provide feedback via a Google Form, video/audio recording, or a Google Meet call. This was followed up in some cases with a guided video call to further understand some of the responses.
Approach
In the first testing round on a live test site, we focused on independent navigation through the site and accessing all the content on the pages. This included many combinations of devices, browsers, and assistive technology to gain insights through personal experience.
This was phase one of the development process and testing was carried out with only a few pages built and the core components added. We continued with our approach to get the core right before expanding as it is much easier to fix before you expand into other complicated features.
A goal for this round and the next was to test for the fourth WCAG principle, “robust”. Our content and site must be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. We did this by asking each participant to test on two personal devices, and this increased the technology combinations we were getting feedback on. People may not engage with their phone and laptop in the same way.
“I love ‘Client, Date, People, Sector’ on the case studies. You do not have to explore the website or page too much and are given the information immediately which is really lovely.”
Key insights
Testers successfully used the main menu: They navigated to various pages using their preferred devices and browsers, with interactions working smoothly across different screen sizes.
Some issues were highlighted with particular devices and visual descriptions: This was beneficial to gain an understanding of different screen readers and their particular nuances. We needed clear labelling that could be accessed for icons and image-based elements to ensure everyone would have the same experience.
Specific usability issues were identified: We picked up on lots of smaller issues – the search bar exit function and the reduced contrast of the menu on mobile in dark mode.
A need for context and explanation for terms: Some testers highlighted the need for plain English for certain complex words or specific terms that might be unfamiliar. It was a good reminder as the team wrote content to ensure we were explaining any terminology clearly.
Adding more semantic tagging: For case studies, news etc. we use a summary box at the top and we had useful feedback on how to improve this feature for screen readers.
More proximity insights for content: Now that we had reduced the spacing throughout the site, it solved most of the issues for magnified browsing. However, we uncovered valuable learning around our layouts in case studies. For one user, their mobile experience was OK but on their laptop they were seeing large vertical gaps in content when zoomed in as our text switched sides. “I am zoomed in and it took a lot of navigation to find text. For example picture on the left and writing on the right and it switches for the next and then switches back again.”
“Although clear alt texts were set, there seem to be challenges with some devices and configurations.”
Round 4: Focus development testing with specific features
Focus: This round aimed to further refine specific page types and functionalities, particularly on the Resources Landing Page, an Article Page, the Meet the Team page, and the Events page. This included testing navigation, filtering mechanisms, and reviewing page content like videos and links.
Participants: Disabled people including individuals with low-vision or blindness using screen readers/magnifiers, colour-blindness, and mobility/physical disabilities who navigate using keyboards, joysticks, or voice.
Testing method: Testing web pages with complex elements on two devices, focusing on technical accessibility and browsing experience with assistive technology. Users had the option to provide feedback via a Google Form, video or audio recording, or a video call.
Approach
For this round of live testing and part two of our development phase, we took a deep dive into specific and more complex elements. We looked at the filters, news and resource pages, upcoming event cards and team member profiles.
We also revisited our new language in action as we asked participants to perform certain navigation tasks with vague instructions.
We asked binary questions when we asked testers to complete a task, but left openings to add context and detail around their experience.
“Navigation followed a logical structure, with clear focus on headings, textual content, and interactive links etc.”
Key insights
We were able to verify a lot of development work that had been done by the New Graphic team to ensure a number of assistive technology users were able to navigate and access content across the site. We had very few issues reported at this late stage in the project.
Feedback on some link clarity and labelling throughout
One participant reported issues with their tech and the labelling of the mobile menu states which we were able to fix.
“Links [on the event card] such as registration or external resources are functional via touch but could benefit from more detailed labels.”
Beyond compliance: Human-Centred Design is the future of true accessibility
At Tilting the Lens, we’re driven by a singular, powerful question: “Is this accessible?” But what does true accessibility look like and how do we design for it? Often, the route to a solution uses the frameworks of “Universal Design” or “Inclusive Design”. While these approaches offer valuable starting points, at Tilting the Lens we have developed a practice that merges them with the benefits of Human-Centred Design and Co-Design to offer a more impactful and transformative path. One that aligns with our mission to create a more equitable world.
What is Universal Design?
The Seven Principles of Universal Design were developed at North Carolina State University. The principles create a matrix for products and services to be designed to have greater flexibility and equity in use. Inclusive Design similarly exists on the premise of “design for one and extend to many”, often looking at the lived experiences of those on the margins to create innovation for the majority. Today, Universal Design has extended to Universal Design for Learning, and is the framework by which the European Accessibility Act is assessed.
Both Universal Design and Inclusive Design aim to create mainstream products and services that are accessible to as many people as reasonably possible without special adaptation. This is undoubtedly a positive goal, especially for built environments and websites where the target population is generally the whole population. However, our work with clients, particularly in product and built environment design, has revealed inherent limitations with this aim.
Compliance is only the beginning
Universal Design, often referred to in Ireland and elsewhere as “Design for All”, pragmatically accepts that a single product may not always serve everyone. Inclusive Design, meanwhile focuses on choosing a target market and maximising “product performance indicators” for that group. While all three methodologies aspire to broaden the reach of mainstream products, they often begin with a framework of compliance – a baseline that, while necessary, is rarely sufficient or innovative.
As a majority-Disabled team at Tilting the Lens, we live the reality that compliance is local, not global, and so often what is compliant where we reside sets a minimum standard that continues to exclude many. Structuring ambitions solely around compliance stifles innovation and perpetuates a culture of engagement “because we must”, rather than “because we want to”, or “because we understand the value, be it environmental, economic or social, in doing so”.
What is Human-Centred Design?
This is where the processes of Human-Centred Design truly shine. Instead of aiming for broad accessibility or focusing on a pre-defined target, Human-Centred Design is a methodology that prioritises the needs, behaviours, and experiences of users. It solves for those needs while understanding that there might be value or reduced friction for those who are in the majority, design is not only valid if it serves the masses. In the work that we do at Tilting the Lens, we centre the Disabled community, particularly from multiply-marginalised or intersectional identities, as they are the most excluded in a workforce, a customer base, or public space users.
Engaging in a research period and co-design process with the Disabled community brings about deep understanding of user needs. Insights are gained through direct engagement, building trust, and fostering psychological safety and empathy by talking directly with the people for whom the product, service, or system is being designed.
The benefits of Human-Centred Design
The key benefits of a Human-Centred Design approach, over Universal or Inclusive Design, lie in its iterative, empathetic, and co-creative nature.
Move beyond “for” to “with”: While Universal and Inclusive Design often design for diverse perspectives and needs, Human-Centred Design actively designs with the people who experience them. This is a fundamental part of the Tilting the Lens process: centering Disabled people, particularly those from multiply-marginalised communities, within our methodology. Their lived experience is not just considered; it is valued as expertise.
Granular understanding and root cause resolution: Human-Centred Design examines the granular understanding of user requirements, needs, and challenges, and identifies the cause of issues that negatively affect experience. This goes beyond simply meeting a standard – it seeks to resolve real problems.
Iterative innovation, not static compliance: We push back against the assumption that solutions can be “fully accessible” for everyone. Instead, we embrace constant iteration and progress. Designing flexible, equitable, and multi-modal solutions that provide agency and clarity, allows people to adapt products and services to their specific requirements. There is no ideal or perfect solution that works for everyone, but there is continuous improvement to reduce friction and feelings of exclusion and provide choice
Drives desirable, viable, and feasible solutions: By engaging directly with the community, we ensure that solutions are not only desirable (do they meet needs?), but also viable (do they make economic sense?) and feasible (is it technically possible?). This holistic approach leads to more effective and sustainable outcomes.
From legal requirement to innovation opportunity: A co-design approach allows us to evolve accessibility from a requirement to a fundamental lever for a more equitable organisation and society. It aligns with broader business goals to ideate, scale, expand, and hire the best talent, moving organisations from mere compliance to safety, creativity and belonging.
Valuing lived experience: At Tilting the Lens we centre non-oppressive and intersectional research practices in our work. Research and co-design can replicate power imbalances and be extractionary by nature, so we take deliberate steps to ensure our research and co-design is paid, respectful, and community led. We are proud of the collaborative relationship we have with people who choose to join our research database.
Feedback loops build strength in process: Providing quality feedback to stakeholders and participants and getting feedback on their experiences and needs is vital to centre collaboration and power-sharing, to shape processes, ensure transparency and accountability, and help turn insights into action.
The future of accessibility
At Tilting the Lens, we use Universal Design and Inclusive Design as valuable starting points. However, our true impact comes from integrating them with a process of Human-Centred and Co-Design principles. This framework we use builds trust, leads with empathy, and co-designs solutions directly with the people who will use them.
Over 1.1 million people in the recent Census (2022) in Ireland identified with at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty, accounting for 22% of the population. In the UK, 16 million people identify as Disabled. Germany reports that 7.8 million people are ‘severely’ Disabled, and 8.5% of the Spanish population have a disability. This shows the mandate for truly accessible design is urgent.
Human-Centred Design and Co-Design are not just methodologies; they are a philosophy that empowers us to create impact and legacy memory where every design decision is an intentional act of inclusion.
Memories: Disability representation in TV, film, and media
At the conclusion of our August webinar on Inclusion in TV and Film, Sinéad Burke, CEO at Tilting the Lens, promised to follow up on a thought-provoking question from an audience member.
The question came as part of the Q&A with the audience as they shared their questions with the guest speakers, Ade Rawcliffe, Chief People and Inclusion Officer at ITV, and Bella Roberts, a young Disabled editorial trainee and content creator.
During the webinar some media inspiration and representation was discussed – from the wonderful performance of George Robinson in Sex Education (Netflix) to the ITV drama, Code of Silence, and the representation both in front of and behind the camera.
So when the question was raised by Angela – “I’m curious if any of the speakers remember their first experience of seeing disability representation in media? I grew up seeing so little disability representation or in some cases inauthentic that I find great joy in finding positive and authentic representation.” – we had to reflect and answer it together.
Memories of disability representation
Bella Roberts
“When I thought about shows that had positive representation while I was growing up, I honestly struggled at first because there really wasn’t much around. One that stood out, though, was ‘The Story of Tracy Beaker’. There was a character called Layla, played by Cara Readle, and later, when it evolved into The Dumping Ground, they introduced even more children with different disabilities.
What I found so powerful was that those characters weren’t defined by their Disability. They had flaws, humour, and full personalities just like everyone else, which made them so much more relatable.”
“One of my earliest memories of disability representation is Corban Walker in the Irish film Frankie Starlight. It featured Gabriel Byrne, Matt Dillon and Anne Parillaud and told the story of a writer with dwarfism, and how he experienced the world. I should probably admit that I had a cameo role in it too, though I was only three.”
Rowena Neville, Senior Consultant
“Thinking back to TV and books when I was very young, I loved the story of Heidi, an orphan who lived in the Alps with her Grandfather. There was a Japanese cartoon version broadcast in the 1970s, of the original story from the 1880s.
Heidi’s best friend was Peter the Goatherd, and Peter’s Grandmother was Blind. Neither Peter or Heidi could read, and when Heidi is taken to Frankfurt as a companion to a girl called Clara who is a wheelchair user, Clara’s wealthy grandmother taught Heidi to read. Clara’s life was so glamorous and cosmopolitan compared to Heidi’s, and the Alps were framed as somewhere that Clara could go to recover from her illness and perhaps begin to walk again. On reflection, that seems a really inaccessible idea, however, Clara’s name and style of dress has remained in my head as a guide star of glamour and sophistication to me ever since!”
Emma Shaw, Senior Consultant
“One of my earliest memories of disability representation is of musician, artist, and actor Ian Dury, who formed the band Ian Dury and the Blockheads in the 1970s. My dad is a big fan and often played his music for me and my sister when we were children, sharing stories about him—how he became disabled by polio at seven (which he said toughened him up), mainly about what an incredible artist (he attended the Royal College of Art) and musician he was, along with his commanding presence.
He had some minor acting roles, and one that I remember is in The Cook, The Thief, The Wife, And Her Lover; he plays a gangster and has a scene where he pretty much commands the room and then a section walking out of the restaurant with a woman, his walking stick and his limp fully visible and almost heightening the tension of the scene, slowing it down. He frequently discussed his disability openly in his work, using lyrics with humour, defiance, and honesty. Radically positive and just so cool. The song “Sweet Gene Vincent” (about American musician Gene Vincent, who was also Disabled) remains a firm favourite.”
Orla McCann, Senior Consultant
“Winnie the Pooh is a lifelong favourite of mine, and introduced the beloved Eeyore, a character who has become a symbol of mental health awareness in children’s literature and now film. Unlike his cheerful friends, Eeyore is introverted, low-energy, and despondent, often preferring solitude. A.A. Milne treats this sadness with empathy, and what stands out is how Eeyore’s friends respond to it. They don’t try to fix him or force happiness; instead, they offer kindness, inclusion, and patience. Their gentle support shows young readers and viewers the value of empathy and how to be there for someone who may be struggling. Eeyore’s enduring appeal proves that being different doesn’t make you any less loved.”
“I can’t pick just one film, but growing up in Nigeria in the late 1990s and early 2000s, most of my earliest exposure to disability representation came through what we called home videos – what the rest of the world now knows as Nollywood films. These were straight-to-VHS or VCD movies that families would gather around to watch, often telling everyday stories about love, betrayal, community, and faith. It wasn’t unusual to see characters who were Blind, Deaf, or physically Disabled, often played by well-known actors.
Looking back, the portrayals were not always sensitive by today’s standards; sometimes they leaned on stereotypes or framed disability as a source of tragedy or spiritual symbolism. But at the time, those characters were some of the first images I saw of people living with disabilities, woven into stories that mattered to everyone.
In their own imperfect way, they planted seeds of awareness that disability was part of society’s fabric.”
A guide to more accessible webinars
At Tilting the Lens we have been presenting and publishing webinars for a few years, and are always looking to improve the accessibility of our events. We started on Instagram Live in 2021, but due to the platform’s accessibility limits, we have moved to Zoom Webinar tools for our most recent events.
These are some of our own checks that we have put in place.
1. Organise a sign language interpreter to appear on the day:
Our approach is to hire an interpreter that represents the local sign language for the guest speakers. For example when we have an American guest we will try to have an ASL interpreter. You can support the interpreter by providing a clear brief in advance of the session, including any names or terms that might come up that would be helpful for the interpreter to know.
Best practice is to hire both a local Deaf interpreter and a hearing interpreter to ensure that Deaf communities are economically valued, and to communicate the nuances within signs and vocabularies.
2. Live captions or auto captions:
Decide on an approach for captioning your webinar. For the most accurate live captions you can hire a live captioner. Make sure your captioner is briefed in a similar way to the interpreter; including correct spelling and any corporate language or acronyms that might come up. Most webinar software will have a built-in auto caption service. It can be a bit unreliable, but if you don’t have a live captioner, this feature is better than having none.
3. Make it clear what accessibility features will be in place on the registration form:
For example – “A British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter will be on-screen. Live captioning will be available, and a transcript will be shared after the session. If you have any further accessibility accommodations, please email us at [email address].
4. Brief your speakers in advance:
Give them an idea of the kind of questions you will be asking.
Remind them that they will need to speak slowly and clearly for the audience to understand but also to allow the captioner and interpreters to keep up.
Make sure their environment is quiet, well lit, and preferably with a neutral background. This is also good advice for interpreters.
5. Test your settings before the event day:
These are specific to the Zoom software we use but check the software you are using for the following options.
Invite the interpreter to the event as a panelist and not as interpreter, so that they are present on screen for every webinar participant.
Enable manual captions so that your captioner can add the live transcriptions.
Adjust the Speaker and Participant views. Turn on Gallery View to ensure that the audience can see everyone including the interpreter and not just the person speaking. Hide non-video participants. This will allow your team to work in the background without being on camera.
6. Start off the webinar with introductions and visual descriptions of the speakers:
For example – “Hello everyone! My name is Kate, I’m a black woman, wearing a cream dress with a floral pattern, and I have short dark hair and glasses. I’m standing in front of a beige backdrop, and you might notice I’m wearing a silver necklace that has a small pendant shaped like a leaf”.
7. Make post-webinar content accessible:
Prepare an accessible transcript document for attendees and those who might have missed the session
If you are sharing a video make sure it has accurate captions
8. After the webinar, ask attendees for accessibility feedback:
This will ensure you keep improving the experience for everyone who attends your events.
If you have any questions or feedback on this webinar guide please contact us at accessibility@tiltingthelens.com.
Showcasing disability excellence from around Europe on Dec 3rd
December 3rd is known as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. It’s a day that highlights the importance of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We take the opportunity to look at the progress we have made in achieving disability rights, and a moment to pause and acknowledge how for some communities, there is still a very, very long way to go.
The theme in 2024 was ‘Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future’. As a disability-led team whose practice is rooted in disability justice (a framework coined by Sins Invalid), the importance of moving from the perspective of Disabled people as in need of charity, to that which presents Disabled people as leaders, is much needed and very timely, as new governments become elected and key legislation determining disability rights is globally actioned.
But our quest for disability rights doesn’t eliminate the need for Disabled joy. Finding joy in creating meaningful access, in showcasing arts and culture by Disabled creatives, and in pointing to initiatives and programmes that are being established in our own communities, that could have global impact.
Tilting the Lens is currently based across Europe in Belfast, Berlin, Dublin, Glasgow, Madrid, London and Trim. Below, our team has personal recommendations from their local area; everything from books and art, to useful tools and events.
We hope you find them useful and even more, we want to know about the Disabled joy that exists in your locality.
Áine, Senior Consultant
Berlin, Germany
Magazine:VALID Magazine is a magazine that “brings lively stories that show, with a wink, what it means to live inclusion in everyday life. With a fresh look at living together in all its diversity, VALID creates a modern image of society that leaves prejudices behind and celebrates diversity.”
Theatre: The Sophiensaele, a Berlin performance art theatre that has a really thoughtful and consistent approach to accessibility.
The facade of the Sophiensæle, as viewed from the inner courtyard by Joe Goergen.
Conny, General Manager
Scotland
Event: Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) SQIFF 2024 included many access measures like sliding scale ticket prices, BSL Interpreters, descriptive subtitles, live captioning, and quiet room.
Shop:BrailleBliss: is a shop for Braille greeting cards, keyrings, labels etc.
Museum: The Glasgow Science Museum has incorporated different accessibility measures including using the WelcoMe app, recognising the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme, and having wheelchairs available during the visit.
Emma, Senior Consultant leading on Community and Impact
England
Library:Braille and Beyond Library Tour: From September 2024, the UK will embark on a journey of celebration and discovery with the launch of the Braille and Beyond Tour across the UK. This year-long initiative invites you to join braille experts and allies in honouring the 200th anniversary of the braille code’s invention and exploring its profound impact in the lives of Blind and partially sighted people.
Photography:Dexter McLean: Artist Research Commision Autograph commissioned the photographer Dexter McLean as part of the ‘Explorers’ project to undertake a research project with Disabled communities in Kingston, Jamaica.
Café: Hidden within the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability, Dialogue Café is part of the Dialogue Hub, a social enterprise promoting inclusion and social change. The café is staffed by Deaf and hard of hearing baristas, inviting customers to order using British Sign Language (BSL). If you’re not familiar with BSL an interactive screen is available to guide you.
Screenshot from a video by Dialogue Hub’s café which shows BSL signs for common coffee orders
Event: The LGBTQ+ Film Festival, MIX CPH, held a short film programme ‘Crip Your Heart Out”’ focusing on Queer Disabled stories. They also hosted two community screenings outside of often-inaccessible cinema rooms, at a community space, and as an online watch party.
Laia, Consultant
Spain
Book: The book “No soy lo que ves” by Anabel Domínguez – gives the perspective of what disability inclusion should be from the point of view of a young Spanish Disabled woman and gives Gen Z a reference to look at.
Organisation:Plena Inclusion is an organisation that supports people with intellectual disabilities. Following the DANA catastrophe in Spain, they raise funds to support people with intellectual disabilities affected by the disaster.
Person:Alex Roca, recently named the best content creator for inclusivity by Forbes Spain, has set several records in the world of sport and is now working to make the Spanish fashion scene more accessible and inclusive.
No soy lo que ves (I am not what you see) by Anabel Domínguez
Orla, Senior Consultant
Northern Ireland
Books: Libraries NI is a fabulous resource available to everyone, not only for their physical spaces and mobile services but also their online resource of books, audiobooks, magazines and newspapers that can be accessed using any smart device. They also have a podcast and book blog which can help to choose a reading list.
Gallery:University of Atypical support and promote work by d/Deaf, Disabled and neurodivergent artists in Northern Ireland and beyond, at their city centre gallery and through a programme of events and at their city centre gallery, that includes the annual Bounce Arts Festival where every aspect of diverse identity is celebrated.
Tool: Active Living No Limits is a useful tool to help to find accessible sport or active recreation opportunities across Northern Ireland, everything from walking clubs to trekking through a forest and mountain bike trails.
Art:Disrupt Disability Arts Festival is a new, annual disability-led arts festival that creates radical access. It is curated by and for the disability community, and includes hybrid and masked performances, with ISL interpretation, audio description, quiet rooms, and relaxed performances as a baseline. @disruptdisarts
Programme: Mirroring the UK government’s Access to Work, the Irish Government created the first government-funded scheme for reasonable accommodations: Work and Access
11 movies or TV shows with authentic disability representation
As with many sectors, the film and TV industries have work to do when it comes to authentic disability inclusion and representation. According to Diamond’s recent survey of the industry in the UK, Disabled characters make up just 8.2% of characters on-screen, even though 20% of the population has a disability. Behind the camera, representation is even worse, with only 5.8% of offscreen talent being Disabled.
What’s more, disability representation is rarely authentic: a recent Nielsen study showed that Disabled people are 52% more likely to say that the portrayal of Disabled identities is inaccurate. Too often, disability representation still relies on harmful stereotypes, “inspiration porn” and non-Disabled actors playing Disabled roles – a pervasive phenomenon known as “cripping up.”
Luckily, there are reasons to be hopeful. This year’s Academy Awards were more accessible, with American Sign Language interpreters on the red carpet, audio description, and continued ramp access for all attendees. When the Oscar for Best Live Action Short went to An Irish Goodbye, its lead James Martin became the first person with Down’s Syndrome to win an Academy Award. (Though much discussion remains on how even in such historic moments, non-Disabled people speak for Disabled people.)
Below, we summarise some of the best movies or TV shows from the last five years with authentic disability representation. From Netflix commissions exploring disability, to recent blockbuster box-office hits and recognition during awards season, there are certainly signs that the movie and TV industries are beginning to understand disability inclusion. Here are the movies and TV shows which give us hope for the future of disability representation on-screen.
Which ones are yours? Please DM or tag us on social media @TiltingTheLens, or email us at office@tiltingthelens.com. We’d love to learn from you.
1. Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (2020)
In the few short years since its release, American documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (2020) has quickly become a classic of disability cinema. Co-written, directed and produced by James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham, Crip Camp begins in 1971 at Camp Jened, a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities, at which LeBrecht himself was once a camper. While the summer camp represented a milestone in the teenagers’ coming of age – for many of the campers, it was the first time they had the freedom to drink, flirt and explore their sexuality – the camp also marked the start of their political awakening.
Slowly, these young friendships were mobilised into a movement which famously came to a climax at the Sit-in over Section 104. The protests achieved their purpose and in 1990, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed.
At the center of almost every scene is a young and self-assured Judy Heumann, whose recent passing has left the disability community in mourning. Though the Disability Rights Movement may have lost its “Mother”, Crip Camp convinces us that Heumann lives on – in our hearts, on our screens, and etched into the very fabric of legislation.
Official trailer with audio description for "Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution" from Netflix
Trailer with subtitles for "Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution" from Netflix
2. Special (2019-2021)
Netflix’s Special is a comedy-drama series based loosely on the life of actor-writer Ryan O’Connell. O’Connell plays Ryan, a gay man with Cerebral Palsy who, after a somewhat arrested development, decides to pursue the life he wants. He begins a new internship, starts dating, makes new friends, and moves into his first apartment. There’s only one problem: nobody knows he’s Disabled. Afraid of how they might react to finding out that he has Cerebral Palsy, Ryan prefers to tell people that his limp is due to a recent car accident. Although many people with non-apparent (or “less” visible) disabilities have had the experience of “coming out” as Disabled at work or in relationships, this experience is rarely explored onscreen, making the representation in Special particularly meaningful to many.
With episodes of only twenty minutes each, Special is entertaining and easy to binge. But it is also groundbreaking in its honest and authentic exploration of the intersection of LGBTQ+ and Disabled identity.
Poster for the Netflix series, "Special" featuring Ryan O'Connell
3. Then Barbara Met Alan (2022)
The recent BBC drama Then Barbara Met Alan is based on the real-life story of Barbara Lisicki and Alan Holdsworth, two Disabled cabaret artists who in 1989 met at a gig, fell in love and went on to found D.A.N, the Disabled people’s Direct Action Network. Barbara (played by Ruth Madeley), a comedian, and Alan (Arthur Hughes), a singer-songwriter known by the stage name of Johnny Crescendo, became some of the most prominent campaigners in Britain’s battle for disability rights.
In the early 1990s, the majority of Disabled people lived in inaccessible housing, faced enormous barriers in the workplace, and had no access to public transport. Rather than granting Disabled citizens equal rights by law, the politics of the time encouraged a charity model of disability, where the public was advised to donate to “help” Disabled people through fundraisers like the annual charity TV event, Telethon.
Incensed by Telethon’s patronising attitude and its harmful representation of the Disabled community, Barbara and Alan decided to protest. So began “Block Telethon,” a series of protests in which an army of Disabled protesters stormed the government area in London’s Westminster, demanding an end to Telethon and equal rights in the law. Eventually, the campaigners’ direct action was successful, and in 1995 the UK government passed the Disability Discrimination Act.
Official trailer with subtitles for "Then Barbara Met Alan" from the BBC
4. The L Word: Generation Q (2019-2023)
While The L Word centered on a group of mostly white, cis, middle-class lesbians living in Los Angeles, The L Word: Generation Q is a more inclusive and intersectional update on the original series. Many of the series’ original characters remain, but a whole host of new characters have also been introduced: LGBTQ+ people whose queerness intersects with other parts of their identity, like race, gender, or disability.
In 2019, model and actress Jillian Mercado joined the cast as newcomer Maribel Suarez, a charismatic Latina wheelchair-user. Clearly, the casting of Disabled actress Mercado contributed to the character’s authenticity – but the writing, too, is refreshing: Maribel’s disability is neither ignored nor overly emphasised. In fact, her disability only becomes relevant when society makes it so – for example, when she encounters access barriers, or is met by ableist attitudes. She counters with pithy one-liners and a confidence that it is never her body which is to blame: “Don’t act like you’re gonna break me ‘cause you can’t,” she says to her partner Micah during sex.
From the intimate scenes to a storyline about queer parenthood, The L Word: Generation Q provides some rare and radical representation of the life and loves of a young Disabled woman in Los Angeles today.
Promotional poster for the L word
5. CODA (2021)
CODA is a coming-of-age film about seventeen-year-old Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) who is a child of Deaf adults (or for short: CODA) and the only hearing member of her family. She uses ASL fluently, acts as the family’s informal interpreter and is immersed every day in Deaf culture. But when she suddenly discovers a passion and talent for singing, the Rossis’ family life is thrown into chaos: why would Ruby want to pursue a vocation that could alienate her mother, father, and brother?
First to be cast was Marlee Martin, a Deaf actress who famously won an Academy Award for her performance in Children of a Lesser God in 1986. Initially, the lead roles were to be played by hearing actors, but Martin insisted that she would no longer take part unless her on-screen husband and son were played by Deaf actors. The producers agreed, and Deaf actors Daniel Durant and Troy Kotskur were cast as Ruby’s brother and father respectively. In 2021, Kotskur won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, making him the first Deaf man to win an Academy Award.
Though CODA is a crowd-pleaser, which for the most part was received warmly by Deaf and hearing audiences, it has had its critics: some have argued that the narrative is based on the false premise that Deaf people can’t enjoy music, and that the movie was made by and for a majority non-Deaf crew and audience. While CODA represents a milestone in Deaf visibility and representation, there is clearly still a need for a multitude of movies that centre Deaf characters and culture.
Official trailer with subtitles for "CODA" from Apple TV
6. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
The Peanut Butter Falcon is a buddy movie about the unlikely friendship between Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), a runaway fisherman, and Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a man with Down’s Syndrome who has escaped from an assisted living facility. Both men are on the run, and Zak’s caretaker Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), is in hot pursuit. As the two men spend time together on the road, they grow a surprising bond through vulnerable conversations about good and evil, love and loss, as well as their hopes and fears.
Zak is Disabled and Tyler is non-Disabled, but their friendship is mutually supportive and enriching, and continues to challenge the audience on the ways in which Disabled characters are so often written as ‘supercrips’ or heroes to non-Disabled audiences.
Learning disability is still woefully underrepresented in film – and historically, these characters have too often been played by non-Disabled actors. Yet, in The Peanut Butter Falcon, the Disabled lead is centre stage – as too was Gottsagen, when in 2020, he became the first person with Down Syndrome to present at the Academy Awards.
Movie poster for The Peanut Butter Falcon
7. Rising Phoenix (2020)
Rising Phoenix is a Netflix documentary about the history and legacy of the Paralympic Games. Directed by Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhote, the film seamlessly blends a sweeping history of the Paralympics and interviews with today’s most prominent Paralympians.
In typical Netflix fashion, the film combines glossy production values with an epic soundtrack, as we watch its contributors push themselves to reach the peak of their sporting excellence. The film provides interesting insight into society’s changing perceptions of Disabled people over the last century, and of the disability community’s ongoing resilience and creativity in the face of ableism.
A highlight of the movie is the closing soundtrack – a hip hop track, also titled Rising Phoenix. To produce the track, the film’s composer Daniel Pemberton worked with three Disabled artists: rapper Georgetragic, MC Toni Hickman, and rapper Keith Jones. The three artists are part of Krip Hop Nation, a global collective of Hip Hop artists with disabilities, founded in 2007 in California by Leroy F. Moore. With rousing lyrics and a hypnotising drum, the Krip Hop track feels like a masterful fusion of Hip Hop and disability culture.
Poster for "Rising Phoenix" from Netflix
8. Sex Education (2019-2021)
In the second season of Sex Education, we are introduced to a new character: Isaac, a wheelchair-user who lives opposite Maeve in the caravan park. He lives with his brother, spends much of his time pining for Maeve’s affection, and quickly becomes friends with the other young adults at Moordale School. Though he is the only wheelchair-user in a sea of non-Disabled teenagers, he displays neither insecurity nor self-pity: he is wise, confident, and has a deep sense of who he is. He deflects intrusive questions with a dry sense of humor: when he is introduced to a girl at a party whose first question is “Why are you in a wheelchair?”, he replies with characteristic sarcasm, “It was a horrendous incident involving the wind.”
Particularly memorable is a love scene between Isaac and another character, which provides a rare depiction of intimacy between a Disabled and non-Disabled partner. The tender scene has been widely praised as sex-positive and groundbreaking for its honest representation of sex and disability.
It is refreshing that in Sex Education, a young Disabled character like Isaac is represented as a teenager, first and foremost – just like anyone else.
Poster for “Sex Education” from Netflix
9. A Quiet Place (2018)
The 2018 horror film A Quiet Place tells the story of a family fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, where the majority of humans have been killed by creatures who are blind but have an acute sense of hearing. The Abbott family, however, have survived, in part thanks to their use of American Sign Language (ASL). While Deaf representation can sometimes feel tokenistic, in A Quiet Place, Deafness is woven tightly into the fabric of the story.
This authenticity is also due to the casting of Millicent Simmonds, a young Deaf actress, in the role of Regan, who is the Deaf daughter of hearing parents. Deaf consultant Douglas Ridloff taught the cast ASL and an ASL interpreter was available at all times on set. But crucially, the film was also informed by Simmonds’ own insight into Deaf culture and ASL. In one poignant scene in the script in which John Krasinski’s character Lee signs “I love you” to his daughter, Simmonds suggested that the signs be changed instead to “I’ve always loved you,” to allude to the pair’s earlier argument. This subtle change in American Sign Language leads to a significant shift in audience emotion – which is all the evidence we need that casting Deaf or Disabled actors can improve storytelling.
Official trailer for "A Quiet Place" from Paramount Movies
10. Creed III
Directed by Michael B. Jordan, new sports drama movie Creed IIIis the third installment in the Creed film series, and the ninth overall in the Rocky franchise, which began in 1976 with its first eponymous film. The new movie stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, a boxing star who must face his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) in a match.
One might not expect a blockbuster sports movie like Creed III to provide authentic representation of Deaf culture – and yet the film has resonated with the Black Deaf community. Adonis’ daughter Amara is Deaf and is played by young Deaf actress Mila Davis-Kent. Like Davis-Kent, Amara uses American Sign Language (ASL), and throughout the movie we watch her communicate with her hearing parents in ASL, which is translated into English via open captions.
In early March 2023, Creed III claimed the title of biggest sports movie opening of all time. In just its first weekend, the movie grossed a staggering $58.7million at the North American box office, and another $41.8 million at the box office worldwide. If anyone still needed convincing that Deaf or Disabled representation makes for exciting, commercially-successful movies, then Creed IIIpacks a punch – or two, or three.
Poster for “Creed III” featuring Michael B. Jordan and Jonathon Majors
11. All the Beauty and The Bloodshed
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is the latest documentary film by Academy Award winner Laura Poitras (Citizenfour). The film is simultaneously a portrait of the life and art of American photographer Nan Goldin and a gripping account of Goldin’s campaign to take down the Sackler family – the billionaires behind the drug Oxycontin, which fuelled the opioid epidemic in the United States.
After recovering from her own addiction to Oxycontin, in 2007 Goldin founded the advocacy group P.A.I.N (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now). The documentary is interspersed with interviews with members of P.A.I.N and, many of the most interesting insights in the film come from those with lived experience of addiction.
The film draws poignant parallels between the HIV/ AIDS crisis – which Goldin extensively photographed – and the opioid epidemic of today. When in an interview from the early 1990s, a young writer describes HIV/ AIDS as ‘a taboo disease in this society’, his words resonate and might equally be applied to addiction today.
While narratives about addiction can be prone to sensationalise or victim-blame, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is unflinching in its argument: addiction is not a personal failure, but the failure of society to protect the most vulnerable from exploitation. All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is a timely reminder of the power of art and activism to make social change.
Poster for “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” with Nan Goldin
