My hot take: I think a lot (too many) of 911 fan writers and artists are too scared to portray Chris as disabled as he is
I’m absolutely giving everyone the benefit of the doubt here. This isn’t a callout. Maybe I don’t know enough about cp. Maybe other folks don’t. Maybe researching it is taking away from people’s limited time and energy when they just want to make some fanwork, and I get that. No matter the reason, I find it disheartening that people can’t include a disabled character without downplaying how severe their disability is.
And the thing about Chris, specifically, is that 911 shows his limitations all the time if you pay attention. It’s more effort for him to sit up. He doesn’t cross his legs. He never rolls over in bed or changes positions on the couch—which isn’t to say he couldn’t, but I suspect it would take a lot more effort than people consider. In later seasons, I don’t think he’s ever shown walking without his crutches. If someone has to use crutches in both hands, they likely can’t carry things in their hands from room to room. Chris is using the crutches to bear some of his body weight on his arms because his legs can’t. He likely can’t stand for any stretch of time, and less so as the day goes on. It’s physically and mentally exhausting having to think about how you’re moving and the physical space around you. And remembering these little movements is part of his body language, just like Eddie brushing his hair back when he’s nervous or Buck’s bear hugs. Not including them is one thing; changing it so that his co is less debilitating is another.
And again: I don’t think people are doing this maliciously or with bad intent! I just think non-disabled people haven’t really thought about it. And when you are disabled, you can’t not think about it all the time.
Being disabled isn’t a failing. It isn’t something other people need to pretend doesn’t exist or to the severity that it does. But it also shouldn’t be something other people forget exists. Because a disability makes you who you are, just like not having one does. It doesn’t make all of you, but it does change how you interact and move, sometimes literally, with your world.
I don't know the character but I do have cerebral palsy, and I want to remark that cp, at least in my experience, is murderously changeable. I wake up regularly thinking: "is this a walking day? Can I stand without holding on to anything? Is it a great day, and can I walk down several steps without holding on to anything? Stand in the shower? Or is it a shit day and honestly, can't I even step down a curbside today? How is my depth perception today?"
You don't know. You don't know what your range of motion is for any given day. So sure Chris can be having a number of fantastic, very good days in a row, and then he could wake up with a "nope, muscle control is offline today" which would force him to use a lot more coping strategies. You don't know. You don't know what you're gonna get. But if he has been doing great for a long time, he would remark upon it, and so would people around him.
