Pressure to report something newsworthy can cause some journalists to tug at the heartstrings of readers, and as a result, unfortunately, the true message of the story gets morphed. I am writing today to prompt a discussion about how media tends to polarize persons with disabilities as either trauma or inspiration, segregate them from the “norm,” and define them solely by their disability.

I cannot argue that it sells to report about something most have yet to experience. So many of us have never known anyone living with limitations like having to use a walker or guide to travel, or loss of sight or memory and having to relearn skills, or inability to comprehend socially acceptable behaviors. However, the reality is one out of every five Americans will become disabled during their lifetime. People lose their sight every day, suddenly or gradually, and others experience physical or mental challenges from illness or accident. Chances are this means that it is very likely that you will encounter a person with a disability sooner than later, and that person might just be you.

Today, you can identify with the media’s norm, whether news, movie or sitcom, as an underestimated Elle in Legally Blonde or as the sorority girls taking down the jock in John Tucker Must Die, but tomorrow you might become someone’s “inspiration” or “tragedy” reported in the news and segregated outside the norm.

We look to the media, movies and social networking for forward thinking positive information. It’s time we urged the media to portray all people as normal. The media tells us now “we don’t see color,” so why do we continue to “see” other characteristics? As technology and medicine advance, more individuals with disabilities receive the tools and training and are productive members of society participating in every “normal” social setting. Unfortunately, the media continues to report these “sightings” as not so normal.

Next time you see someone with a disability — mental or physical — recognize that none of what they are doing is amazing; but inventive and resourceful. Think about it: if your car breaks down, you probably pout and decide you are stuck on the couch. In reality, you do have resources: walk, take an Uber or transit — just like disabled without a license. Can’t read the board in class, you ask to copy someone’s notes — just like dyslexic classmates. Don’t know how it works, you ask someone or google it — exactly as disabled people figure it out. And remember, you encounter disabled persons every day without realizing: Dyslexic, anxiety disorders, depression, savants or people with MS or epilepsy. We are an inclusive society with varied characteristics (many of which are undetectable), except when the media sensationalizes the message to segregate us.

Today, more and more students with disabilities pursue college and professional careers. Accommodations such as wheelchair-accessible dorm rooms, extended time on tests, readers, notetakers, alternative format textbooks and permission to use a computer in class to complete work and exams allow persons with a disability to compete on a more level playing field with their peers in the classroom and the workplace.

While it may seem amazing to you to witness a “blind girl” in the campus library typing furiously on a Mac Book and enjoying a refreshing cup of iced coffee while her guide dog surveys the scene from beneath the table, know that you have so much more in common with her than you let yourself imagine. Her blindness does not define her. If you ask a disabled person whether their disability defines them, the answer would most likely be “no.” Most individuals with disabilities view it as a physical characteristic, like having brown hair, being tall or fat. It is not uncommon for a person with a disability to be your doctor, lawyer, vet, teacher, bank teller or tutor. To identify a person by a characteristic or disability underestimates their abilities and discredits their efforts.

I consider myself a realist. I don’t expect everyone’s experience with the disabled to be the same, but when I hear story reporting a disabled experience, I hold my breath, hoping the message is free of trauma or inspiration, with a fresh relatable definition of normal.