Glee Fail

I love Glee.

I love the characters, the stories, the songs and the production.

I especially love their Michael Jackson episode; what pure joy that was.

BUT .... why did Glee not find a talented singing/dancing wheelchair user for the role of Artie?

What an epic Glee Fail.

I have gone two years not realising that Artie was played by someone who is not a wheelchair user.  I know, as ever, that I've come late to this knowledge, but I am truly shocked.  I have always adored watching the dancing and the way his role empowers those who use wheelchairs.    The thriller staging being a grand example.

But now I find out, thanks to the Michael Jackson episode, that it was all fake, just an act.
In the staging of Scream the character Artie gets out of his wheelchair and does a fabulous dance performance.  But I was too caught up with disappointment that he was dancing on two legs to enjoy it properly.

Surely there are hundreds of wheelchair users who can sing, dance and act and could have been cast in the role of Artie.  What were the casting team at Glee thinking?

Please don't get me wrong, I think that the actor who plays Artie is fantastic, but I'm left feeling despondent about the fact that the opportunity was not taken to show what people living with disabilities are able to do.