How ‘9-1-1’ Could Break Ground with Disability Representation and Christopher Diaz

There’s no denying that Ryan Murphy Productions has come a long way in disability representation since Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) on Glee. 

Long before FOX’s hit drama 9-1-1, the company was casting disabled actors as disabled characters, a step that wasn’t considered when casting wheelchair user Artie. McHale is a non-disabled actor. 

On 9-1-1, Christopher Diaz has the same disability as Gavin McHugh, the 11-year-old actor who portrays him.

Christopher has won the hearts of many 9-1-1 fans, myself included.

That’s saying something because as an ambulatory wheelchair user with Cerebral Palsy (CP) like Chris and McHugh, I’m tough on TV shows that have disabled characters. 

This is because most shows show disability from a tragic angle as if disabled people’s lives are to be pitied or we’re to be praised for doing something as simple as pouring a bowl of cereal.

That’s not authentic to the disabled experience, and if people in the disability community are going to reach our full potential professionally, we need and deserve to be portrayed in media like the complex humans that we are. 

Christopher Diaz has survived an earthquake, his mother’s death, and most recently, a tsunami. That’s just naming some of the things viewers know have happened to him from watching the show.

He has experienced extreme tragedy beyond what an average disabled person experiences, but his disability is at least decently portrayed through that. 

Suffice to say, after listing all of the trauma he’s experienced above, his disability is a secondary detail in his story. McHugh has only been promoted to series regular in Season 3, so he’s been just a small but very memorable piece of his dad Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) story until now.

9-1-1 is about first responders, so Chris has less screentime than others. Plus, he’s in school all day anyway, so he wouldn’t naturally show up next to his dad at an accident scene. 

His screentime is not an issue, especially since it’s been increasing. 

But as one of the best-written disabled characters on TV right now, 9-1-1 also has a responsibility to push Christopher’s story further and fix some of their previous mistakes. 

As good as Christopher’s story is, he’s often used as a token for inspiration for other characters. They say things similar to, “Look how much Christopher has been through, and he’s still so happy,” and Eddie uses Christopher as a tool to motivate Buck when he’s taken off duty in Season 3. 

I don’t doubt that the character of Eddie loves his son. All of the characters who have said these things about Christopher love him. 

It’s also a little bit unclear whether “all he’s been through” is just referring to the tragedies he’s experienced or if his CP is included in that statement, too. 

But consider this: other kids on the show like May, Harry, and Denny have been through similar difficult experiences. The biggest difference between them and Chris is that Chris has CP. 

All of the kids have admirable qualities in their own right and are often praised. But none of them are gawked at as much for simply having a joyful nature. 

Does Chris need to be sad more? No. 

Do I think the writers are doing this on purpose, or that this is the worst case of “inspiration porn” I’ve seen in media? No.

It’s an unconscious bias that turns up often within projects about disability crafted by non-disabled people. It occurs in everything from news segments to books and movies.

But just because 9-1-1 is doing better at telling a disability story than most doesn’t mean I can let it slide. 

Whether Chris is used as an inspiration point because of his disability or just because he’s a happy kid, the show needs to be careful. Disabled viewers are watching and are sensitive to that kind of content.

In general, the community does not take kindly to the idea that we only exist to inspire people. Even if I’m interpreting those moments wrong, if I had those thoughts, someone who isn’t educated about disability did too. That is dangerous. 

There are other changes 9-1-1  could make to tell Chris and Eddie’s story more completely. 

The show has touched on healthcare and the struggle Eddie has finding someone to care for Chris while he works. 

Strangely, Buck and Maddie are the people who have the conversation about all of the red tape required to get Chris enrolled in programs in Season 2, not Eddie.

The paperwork and restrictions are real, frustrating, and vary from person to person depending on their healthcare needs. 

A long arc about paperwork is anticlimactic, to say the least. But Buck and Maddie solve Eddie’s problem for him. Karla shows up, paperwork is done off-screen and poof, problem solved. 

I think there’s a balance between telling Chris’ story and Eddie’s as the parent of a disabled child. 

Eddie has picked a school for Chris on screen, but he’s going to face other struggles — fights for education accommodations, maybe, or even ignorant comments from parents at school. 

9-1-1 needs to show that happening from Eddie’s perspective. His story could at the very least help a parent of a disabled child feel like their emotions and struggles are valid. That chance should not be wasted.

Last but not least, disabled characters are more than their disability. But, the disability is still there and should be acknowledged sometimes via Chris’ stories. 

I love the fact that Chris’ CP is only sometimes mentioned. But even so, 9-1-1 has absolutely failed to actually make his disability any part of his story. It’s there; Chris’ life is going to be affected by it in difficult ways, and that should be acknowledged.

Chris is young. Perhaps this hasn’t happened yet, but he’s going to be bullied and watching how he handles that could possibly help another disabled kid who is watching deal with bullying in real life. 

He’s going to fall and cry before he gets up. But that’s OK — he’ll get up. Disabled kids need to see that on screen. 

I know how much having a disabled character as awesome as Christopher Diaz to look up to when I was a kid might have changed my life or at least my spirit.

TV teaches people about people just by giving characters screen time and a story arc. If a character like Chris existed on TV in the mid-90s when I was in elementary school, maybe “different” wouldn’t have felt like a synonym for “separate.” 

Or, maybe I would have just benefitted from actually watching someone else go through similar experiences as me.  

9-1-1 is doing so much with Chris, but if they dare to do more and fix the current mistakes, the show could break ground in disability portrayal. 

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9-1-1 airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX.

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