Growing stronger: Nine decades of physical disability representation in children's media and implications for pediatric rehabilitation.

The study did not examine video games, social media, or web-based series, which are increasingly influential in children's media consumption. The analysis was limited to English-language content and may not reflect global diversity in disability representation. The study focused on productions that explicitly featured physical disability, so it did not estimate the proportion of all children's media that includes disability content. Portrayal assessment retained inherent subjectivity, and the study did not examine whether actors portraying disabled characters were themselves disabled. The age-appropriate content filter may have excluded relevant content, as children frequently consume media beyond recommended age ratings.

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Do not assume that the observed increase in positive media portrayals has been proven to improve patient rehabilitation outcomes or self-concept. The study identifies trends in media content but does not measure clinical effects, so media integration should be viewed as a potential therapeutic tool rather than an evidence-based intervention with proven efficacy.