We are at last seeing accurate renditions of characters with disabilities, acted by people with the actual disabilities, playing characters whose lives are not primarily defined by their disabilities. Hallelujah!!
Here are a few good examples:
RJ Mitte plays Walter White Jr. on AMC's Breaking Bad.
RJ has a milder form of cerebral palsy in real life, but it's clear from his excellent portrayal that it allows him to authentically get inside the character. He plays the son of Walter White, who got into the meth lab world to earn security for his family after a diagnosis of lung cancer.
Sounds like a nasty premise, but it's really one of the most brilliant things I've seen on TV.
Michael Patrick Thornton plays Dr. Gabriel Fife on ABC's Private Practice.
In 2003 Thornton experienced a spinal stroke. He lives with quadriplegia as a result. Those of us with an eye for such thing can judge from his fingers that he's the real deal. It's very difficult for an able-bodied actor to pull that off.
Thornton's character plays a bit into a stereotype that bothers me: the angry cripple. But he got to kiss the girl, so I guess it comes out in the balance!
Robert David Hall has played Dr. Al Robbins, the guy who does the autopsies, on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS since 2000.
In 1978, Hall was hit by an 18-wheeler in his car. Both of his legs required amputation, and he has burns over a significant part of his body. He is highly active in the promotion of opportunities for actors with disabilities, as well as being a devoted disability advocate in general.
Marlee Matlin's breakout role was in Children of a Lesser God in 1986 opposite William Hurt.
She has been deaf since the age of 18 months, and is the only deaf woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role.
I especially appreciated her role on TV's West Wing as polling consultant Joey Lucas, where we got to see a very smart woman succeeding at a very high level, and adapting with a trusted and highly professional sign interpreter.
Peter Dinklage came to broader attention in the 2003 film The Station Agent, co-starring Patricia Clarkson. His film and TV career began in 1995 in the film, Living In Oblivion.
Dinklage was born with a form of dwarfism called "achondroplasia."
Now Dinklage plays the character of Tyrion Lannister on HBO's Game of Thrones - for which he has won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor.
And let's not forget Peter Falk, who had a glass eye (as did Sammy Davis Jr., among others). For his character, Columbo, the lack of coordination between his two eyes added to the illusion that he wasn't too bright which, of course, was anything but the case.
Couldn't find any notable blind actors, though there are plenty of blind character roles. Anyone?
True to annual tradition, I traveled to Washington D.C. to give talks for National Disability Employment Awareness Month. 
