Exercise 09 · Full guide · Identity
Rewriting the Script.
Tragedy, burden, inspiration. You’re none of those. You’re you.
A narrative therapy exercise about the stock stories told about disabled people. The client names the roles they get cast in, notices who writes them and what they cost, then writes a short scene of their own life told their way.
1Why this exercise exists
Disabled people are often seen through a few familiar stories. The tragedy: a life of suffering. The burden: a cost to others. The inspiration: brave just for living. The faker: not really disabled. The grateful patient: always cooperative and thankful.
These scripts come from media, charities, medicine, benefits systems and everyday conversation. They can be absorbed and then performed: being cheerful so as not to be a burden, staying unwell enough to be believed, being brave on demand.
Rewriting the Script names those roles so the client can see them, notice their costs, and try out a version of their story that doesn’t fit any of them.
The tragedy
A life defined by loss and pity.
The inspiration
Praised for ordinary things. Stella Young called this “inspiration porn”.
The burden or faker
A cost to others, or under suspicion of not being disabled enough.
2The thinking behind it
Narrative therapy
Michael White and David Epston’s narrative therapy treats problems as stories that can be examined, rather than as truths about a person. Dominant stories are often shaped by culture. Therapy looks for unique outcomes, moments that don’t fit the dominant story, and builds an alternative one from them.
Stories about disability
Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s work on how disability is represented shows how disabled people have been cast as spectacle, pity or wonder. The comedian and activist Stella Young’s 2014 TEDx talk challenged the “inspiration” script directly, arguing that disabled people are objectified when presented as inspiring simply for existing.
Scripts that once helped
Some scripts protect people. Being “the brave one” may have earned support, praise or safety. Being “not really disabled” may have avoided stigma. This exercise honours what a script gave before letting it go.
3What it looks like in a session
Fictional example Priya, 27, has a visible limb difference and works in marketing. She mentions, almost in passing, that she is “exhausted being everyone’s favourite colleague”.
People keep telling me I’m so positive. And I am. Mostly.
Which role do you think you get cast in at work?
The inspiring one. The one who never complains.
What does it cost to play it?
I can’t say when something’s inaccessible. It would break the character.
If you wrote a scene of an ordinary Tuesday, your way, what would be in it?
Me swearing at the printer. Being bored in a meeting. Being funny. Being annoyed. Being normal.
Priya writes a half-page scene and titles it “Tuesday, unedited”. Over the following weeks, she raises one access issue at work, and notices she can do it without losing the parts of the “positive” role she actually likes.
4How to run it
Ask first, and agree a time limit. Remind the client they can stop at any point, shorten it, or take the rest home.
- 5 minutes
Name the scripts
Which roles do people cast you in? Tragic, brave, burden, faker, grateful patient, or one of your own.
“Which roles do people cast you in?”
Why: Offer the list as examples; let the client name their own.
- 3 minutes
Spot the authors
Who writes each script? Family, media, doctors, benefits systems, strangers, workplaces.
“Where does that script come from?”
- 5 minutes
Notice the costs
What do you have to hide or perform to fit each one?
“What does playing that role cost you?”
Why: Also ask what the script gives, if anything.
- 8–10 minutes
Write your own scene
A short scene of an ordinary day, told your way: funny, dull, complicated, true.
“What would an ordinary day look like, told by you?”
Why: Ordinary is the point. It isn’t a heroic counter-story.
- 2 minutes
Choose a title
Give your story a name that isn’t one of the scripts.
“What would you call it?”
Reflection prompts
- Which script is hardest to stop playing?
- What part of you never fits any of them?
- Who do you know that sees you outside the scripts?
5Adapting it
| If… | Try |
|---|---|
| Writing is hard | Tell the scene aloud, or draw it as a comic strip. |
| The client isn’t sure what the scripts are | Look at an example together: a news story, an advert, a charity campaign. |
| Invisible conditions | Focus on the faker and “not disabled enough” scripts. |
| Young people | Use characters from TV and film; ask which ones feel true. |
| Groups | Name scripts together; write scenes individually; share if people want. |
6Through different approaches
The exercise sits inside most ways of working. What changes is what you do with what comes up.
Narrative
Externalise scripts, find unique outcomes and thicken the alternative story.
“When have you not played that part?”
CBT
Examine core beliefs linked to scripts (“I must be positive or I’m a burden”).
“What would happen if you stopped being positive?”
Person-centred
Explore conditions of worth: the parts of the self hidden to be accepted.
“What parts of you feel unwelcome?”
Psychodynamic
Look at how early roles in the family echo the scripts.
“When did you first learn to play this role?”
Social justice
Connect personal scripts to how disability is represented in media and policy.
“Who benefits from this script existing?”
Pluralistic
Agree whether the client wants understanding, change, or just to be seen.
“What would you like to get from this?”
7Signs it’s helping, and when to hold back
Signs it’s helping
- The client names a script and smiles, rather than freezes.
- Less performing in at least one setting.
- An ordinary, complicated self appears in their stories.
- They notice scripts in media and others’ reactions.
- They keep the parts of old roles they actually like.
When to hold back
- Some scripts protected the client. Honour what they gave before letting go.
- Don’t replace one script with another, such as “the proud activist”.
- Avoid pushing confrontation where the client depends on others’ views.
- Don’t treat positivity as false; some of it is real.
8Printable worksheet
Rewriting the script · Date: __________
The scripts
| The role I get cast in | Who writes it | What it costs | What it gives |
|---|---|---|---|
My own scene: an ordinary day, told my way
Title
9Evidence & sources
- Established conceptWhite, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. Norton.
- Established conceptGarland-Thomson, R. (1997). Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature. Columbia University Press.
- Established conceptYoung, S. (2014, April). I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much [Video]. TEDxSydney.
- Research findingReeve, D. (2002). Negotiating psycho-emotional dimensions of disability and their influence on identity constructions. Disability & Society, 17(5), 493–508.
- Our frameworkRewriting the Script is this site’s own tool, not a validated measure.
Related: Narrative Therapy · Internalised Ableism · Disability Lineage Letters · All eleven exercises