Medicine, Media and Identity: The Discourse on “Developmental Disabilities” in Japanese TV Programs

The term “developmental disabilities” (DD) generally covers learning disabilities, ADHD and autism-related disorders in Japan, and discourses around the term typically describe specific characteristics such as relatively short attention span or particularly strong preferences for certain things as defining features. However, these characteristics have not always been regarded as disabilities. Some research has observed a cultural tendency towards “medicalization”: certain behaviors have been pathologized over time and controversy continues among medical professionals and lay people concerning over-diagnosis of DD. NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting organization, has regularly aired programs related to DD and may be considered an influential medium for discourse on the subject in Japan. This presentation describes discourse analysis of 51 NHK TV programs—selected using an electronic program guide and covering almost all programs on this subject aired between 2012 and 2014—examining how identity is constructed.

 

The analysis reveals that the majority of programs about DD are “welfare programs” (38 programs), and individuals who are introduced as having DD are highly represented. They are identified as having DD multimodally, including captioning when they are introduced. Various aspects of individuals’ lives (strong preference for a certain color, for example) are identified as typical features of DD. The effect of such forms of representation is to define and delimit individuality through the discourses of medicine and welfare, even though the medical definition of DD is itself unstable. In fact, this tendency in representation is sometimes questioned by newscasters and those introduced as having DD on the programs. These constitute exceptions, however, and are ­­­­­­­­usually unexplored. Thus, the dominant discourses are demonstrably those which directly or implicitly pathologize behaviors. This study suggests the need for greater critical awareness, flexibility and diversity in representation of individuals with specific characteristics.