"The only people who come off looking good are the millions of truly impaired/special needs people, who have never once been portrayed accurately in either a feature or a television movie."
Watch Door to Door starring William Macy sometime. One of the best (made-for-TV I think) movies about a "disabled" person I've ever seen.
I know that movie, and in my rage it slipped my mind. But as I recall, Macy is the one actor who played it right. That is, as a human being one or two beats behind everybody else, but viable just the same.
Not just that but a disabled person who saw past his disability, had a goal, stuck with it, and didn't listen to those who told him he couldn't do it. I worked with kids with cerebral palsy for two years as a physical therapist, and Macy did an awesome job acting the part.