History Main / DisabledMeansHelpless

* "Blind Ambition," an episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', puts this trope through the paces. Rose's sister Lily, who has completely lost her vision, comes to visit her in Miami. Lily is an extremely adventurous and independent woman, and doesn't want anyone treating her differently because of her blindness--to the point where she refuses to attend any sort of school for the blind to learn new coping techniques. Rose doesn't say anything for fear of offending Lily, and things are well until Lily is using the girls' stove for the first time and nearly starts a huge grease fire. She then breaks down and admits that she's ''terrified'' of life now, and begs her sister to help. Rose agrees, but realizes that Lily is now going too far in the opposite direction and becoming wholly dependent on her (to the point of asking her for help with even the simplest of tasks that she did herself earlier in the visit). After a bit of ToughLove, Lily realizes that she needs professional help and joins an academy for the blind, where she learns the techniques she needs to live an active life without sight (and she does indeed--the episode ends with her ''driving Rose home!'').

** Aside from this, there have been a number of court cases over the years involving the sexual activity of a handicapped person with a healthy one, with the healthy being accused of, essentially, statutory rape. Suffice to say, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil this]] is a ''very'' [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment hotly-debated topic]].

* Sometimes it seems as though Nunnally from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' feels this way. She ''is'' the one with the disability (she can't walk or open her eyes), and prefers for the entire first season to have Lelouch take care of her, even though they're ''both'' teenagers (she gets better about this and finally starts acting on her own in season 2). In Episode 21 of R2, Lelouch says that Nunnally kept smiling because, disabled as she was, it was the only way she knew how to show her gratitude to him. This is very decisively zig-zagged in the final episodes. On one hand, [[spoiler:Nunnally ruthlessly, though regretfully, used [=WMDs=] against her brother's forces]]. On the other hand, everything about her in the final episode -- from her [[spoiler:confrontation with Lelouch]] to her outfit in the final scene -- suggests helplessness and even objectification.

[[folder:Comic books]]

* In ''FanFic/TwilightPrettyCure'', Kyoya lashes out at Riko, his best friend, because he misinterpreted one of her comments as referring to this. But when her mother explains she has Autism, which makes her unable to figure out when she's using the wrong words or the wrong tone of voice when saying something that can be construed as offensive by others, he regrets his actions and apologizes. However, one of his ex-friends, Daizo, is utterly convinced that one disability = ALL disabilities to the point where he outright abandons Kyoya because he, as he defines it, "became a cripple" and wants to completely disassociate himself from him. Fukiko, another one of Kyoya's old friends, used to agree with him, but after some nudges from Riko, she throws this belief away and tries to reconcile with him.

* People generally have this opinion about a blind Satsuki in ''Feel'', however, she is anything but (aside from needing some help crossing the streets at times), as she's demonstrated. Along that line, like the MarleeMatlin example below, people also assumed she was deaf because she's TheQuietOne (we do hear her thoughts and ruminations on some matters being expressed internally). As to be expected, she has expressed annoyance at this concept. A particular case in point about this occurs in chapter four, as Ragyou notes that Satsuki is prone to wandering off, leaving her to be criticized and being called irresponsible by other parents when the latter does, as they believe she is helpless and shouldn't be left without supervision. Like her daughter, Ragyou has expressed annoyance particularly at this trope and, not just this trope, the hypocrisy of the other parents related to this.

* In ''[[WebAnimation/TsubasaAbridged Tsubasa Chronicle: The Abridged Movie]]'', Sakura interprets Princess Tomoyo's inability to speak as a sure sign that she's deaf, despite being explicitly told otherwise. This is much to Tomoyo's consternation.
* People generally have this opinion about a blind Satsuki in ''Feel'', however, she is anything but (aside from needing some help crossing the streets at times), as she's demonstrated. Along that line, like the MarleeMatlin example below, people also assumed she was deaf because she doesn't speak (we do hear her thoughts and ruminations on some matters being expressed internally). As to be expected, she has expressed annoyance at this concept. A particular case in point about this occurs in chapter four, as Ragyou notes that Satsuki is prone to wandering off, leaving her to be criticized and being called irresponsible by other parents when the latter does, as they believe she is helpless and shouldn't be left without supervision. Like her daughter, Ragyou has expressed annoyance particularly at this trope and, not just this trope, the hypocrisy of the other parents related to this.

* Ventriloquist Creator/JeffDunham in ''Arguing with Myself''. In one of the bits he talks about doing a show and having a signer there for a group of deaf people. HilarityEnsues. Politically incorrect, but hilarious.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/CliffordTheBigRedDog'' has a three-legged dog. Clifford and T-Bone assume the dog needs a lot of help and Cleo believes the dog has, as she put it, "some kind of leg-losing disease" and if they came into contact with him, they too would get it. At the end of the episode, the dog calls them all out on this, explaining that while he appreciates their help (and sometimes ''does'' need it), he can do a lot of things himself,and assures Cleo he is not at all ill as she thinks.

* This is also why Toph's parents in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' kept her so sheltered that even her ''existence'' was a secret. Why, their helpless little blind girl would obviously perish if allowed to leave the house for even a moment! When she proved to them that she is ''more'' than capable of handling herself, their reaction was to declare that she had been given ''too much'' freedom and will now be monitored 24/7. This kind of upbringing presented a whole new set of problems for Toph later on in her life in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' in terms of relationships.

* Comedian Mike McConnell suffered from muscular dystrophy his entire life (his slogan was "100% comedy, 0% standup"). One of his routines dealt with "helpful" people who would push him and his wheelchair around without first asking or even warning him if it was okay, and blamed the fact that people felt okay doing this on the assumption that because he was in a chair, he was mentally dysfunctional.

* Brightheart from ''Literature/WarriorCats'' was mawled by a dog before she could become a warrior. This left her with a scarred face, one missing eye, and heavy emotional trauma. Despite the others suggesting she retire early, Brightheart refuses to [[CareerEndingInjury abandon her desire]] to be a warrior and learns how to fight despite her partial blindness.

* Illidan in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft III}}'' lampshades this trope if the player clicks him enough times to get him to utter the "annoyed" replies: "I'm blind, not deaf!"

* Deaf actress Marlee Matlin once experienced the "one disability = all disabilities" part of this trope when she was on an overnight flight. The flight attendant was passing out menus for dinner, and Matlin began signing what she wanted to her interpreter. The flight attendant saw her, immediately snatched the menu away, went back to her station, and returned, proudly handing Matlin a menu in braille. Matlin [[FacePalm facepalmed.]]
* A common problem for those who are [[TheMentallyDisturbed mentally ill]] in RealLife. Mental and neurological illness can be disabling, sometimes to the point where those who suffer from it cannot work or cannot drive a vehicle. People with these disabilities need support and help -- which is why they often seek financial assistance or learn to use public transportation, for example. Having a mental or neurological condition does not, by itself, make someone insane, irrational, intellectually deficient, prone to violence, or in any way not a capable, reasonable adult.

* Cheerfully {{averted|Trope}} (possibly even defied) in ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'': Rin has no arms, but can even paint with her dextrous feet; Emi has no legs, but runs track using prosthesis; Shizune is deaf-mute, but serves as an effective and ruthless StudentCouncilPresident (with a TranslatorBuddy). Indeed most of their real problems are only partially informed by their disabilities, for example Shizune is extremely extroverted and eager to interfere in other peoples lives because her inability to speak makes her isolated and easy to ignore, but also [[spoiler:due to the influence of her over combative father.]]\\\

* Subverted with Music/EvelynEvelyn. They're ConjoinedTwins with deeply traumatic pasts but are self-taught musicians who want to be popular.

** An [[WholeEpisodeFlashback earlier episode that flashes back to]] Buster being daignosed with asthma has all his friends start dusting things off for him, to the point where he skips out on a trip to the nurses office for his inhaler and pretends he's cured so they don't worry about it anymore. After that backfires on him, Buster decided to explain how asthma works to his class as part of his school project so they aren't so scared of it, and they begin to treat him like normal again.

* Sometimes it seems as though Nunnaly from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' feels this way. She ''is'' the one with the disability (she can't walk or open her eyes), and prefers for the entire first season to have Lelouch take care of her, even though they're ''both'' teenagers (she gets better about this and finally starts acting on her own in season 2). In Episode 21 of R2, Lelouch says that Nunnally kept smiling because, disabled as she was, it was the only way she knew how to show her gratitude to him. This is very decisively zig-zagged in the final episodes. On one hand, [[spoiler:Nunnally ruthlessly, though regretfully, used [=WMDs=] against her brother's forces]]. On the other hand, everything about her in the final episode -- from her [[spoiler:confrontation with Lelouch]] to her outfit in the final scene -- suggests helplessness and even objectification.

* People generally have this opinion about a blind Satsuki in ''Feel'', however, she is anything but (aside from needing some help crossing the streets at times), as she's demonstrated. Along that line, like the MarleeMatlin example below, people also assumed she was deaf because she doesn't speak (we do hear her thoughts and ruminations on some matters being expressed internally). As to be expected, she has expressed annoyance at this concept.
** A particular case in point about this occurs in chapter four, as Ragyou notes that Satsuki is prone to wandering off, leaving her to be criticized and being called irresponsible by other parents when the latter does, as they believe she is helpless and shouldn't be left without supervision. Like her daughter, Ragyou has expressed annoyance particularly at this trope and, not just this trope, the hypocrisy of the other parents related to this.

-->'''Tummi:''' But look, your an involent, incapable, helpless...

* Averted in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs''. Hayate is paraplegic and wheelchair bound, but it's never really treated as being important outside of [[spoiler:being a sign that the [[ArtifactOfDeath Book of Darkness]] is slowly killing her]]. In fact, no one outside of her doctors or family even mention her condition. It helps that she's depicted as an incredibly competent homemaker [[WiseBeyondTheirYears despite being nine years old]].

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/CliffordTheBigRedDog'' has a three-legged dog. Clifford and T-Bone assume the dog needs a lot of help and Cleo believes the dog has, as she put it, "some kind of leg-losing disease" and if they came into contact with him, they too would get it. At the end of the episode, the dog calls them all out on this, explaining that while he appreciates their help (and sometimes ''does'' need it), he can do a lot of things himself and assures Cleo he is not at all ill as she thinks.

* This is also why Toph's parents in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' kept her so sheltered that even her ''existence'' was a secret. Why, their helpless little blind girl would obviously perish if allowed to leave the house for even a moment! When she proved to them that she is ''more'' than capable of handling herself, their reaction was to declare that she had been given ''too much'' freedom and will now be monitored 24/7. This kind of upbringing presented a whole new set of problems for Toph later in her life in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''.

** Aside from this, there have been a number of court cases over the years involving the sexual activity of a handicapped person with a healthy one, with the healthy being accused of, essentially, statutory rape. One particular case had [[https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/06/12/professor-accused-raping-disabled-man-sees-her-convictions-overturned a college professor be convicted of raping a man who was mute with cerebral palsy]] - only for evidence that had been excluded in her first trial, in which the man had answered 43 out of 45 multiple-choice questions correctly, to be permitted, resulting in her conviction getting overturned.

** Aside from this, there have been a number of court cases over the years involving the sexual activity of a handicapped person with a healthy one, with the healthy being accused of, essentially, statutory rape. Even if the handicaps are ''physical'', rather than mental.

* Apes have flexible arms that can pull out tranquilizer darts, unless shot in the neck. Some people are unaware of this and think Harambe was a helpless gorilla who could have been shot in the butt.