We Need Ethical Standards for Journalists Writing About Autism and Disability

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Tell the Society of Professional Journalism (SPJ) to create a guide for journalists writing about disability.

The way the media portrays disabilities can have a profound effect on the way the rest of the world views them, as many people do not have firsthand experience with them — after all, only about 12.6 percent of the U.S. population has some sort of disability [1] — so the general public must derive their opinions from what they read or hear. That is why journalists need to write about disabled people in the way they want to be portrayed.

Oftentimes, however, the worldwide media is not terribly good at this. Though journalists have certainly improved at covering stories about disability, [2] they sometimes still fall short of writing about it in a way that is respectful, neutral (rather than negative), and humanizing.

For example, people with disabilities who are able to speak for themselves deserve to have their voices heard, but oftentimes their words are treated as an afterthought, if even included at all. News stories often focus on how the parents or caregivers, rather than the individuals themselves, are affected by the disability.

People with disabilities also deserve to be treated like human beings, but the media often treats them more like pets or objects — things that should be treated with love and care but don’t really have their own thoughts, feelings, or autonomy. They are infantilized, treated like burdens on families and societies, [3] and portrayed as pitiable creatures that deserve praise for doing average, everyday things (such as graduating from school or holding down a job). They are often characterized by their deficits, which sometimes can be very personal and private (i.e. inability to use the toilet).

Even in cases of filicide, journalists often get things backwards and sympathize with the parents “who killed their child out of ’mercy’” or “snapped under the immense burden of caregiving.” [4]

When people read these stories, they may begin to internalize these negative messages and form the subconscious opinion that those with disabilities are sub-human and less worthy of life than “normal” people.

We simply cannot let this happen.

The Society of Professional Journalism (SPJ) is an organization that, in part, strives “to stimulate high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism.” [5] As part of that, they have a Code of Ethics that gives guidance to journalists. We believe that this organization should include guidelines on writing ethically about disability. Doing this may lead more journalists to cover it the way they should: with respect.