The Miracle Worker, a play by William Gibson, delves into the early education of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan. The play addresses the connection between language and communication and the challenges both student and teacher face in establishing that link.

Brian Clark's play Whose Life Is It Anyway? explores the concept of allowing individuals with impairments to make their own decisions through the story of Ken Harrison, a sculptor. After a car accident leaves him paralyzed from the neck down, Harrison retains only his ability to speak. He expresses his desire to die, and in the hospital, he befriends some of the staff who support him when he goes to trial to gain the right to make his own choices, even if it means ending his life.

This Sign, a novel by Joanne Greenberg, narrates the life of a deaf couple and their hearing daughter as they navigate their struggles. The characters are neither heroic nor extraordinary but are portrayed as very real and deeply human.

Based on the true story of John Merrick, a 19th-century Englishman suffering from a disfiguring congenital disease, Bernard Pommerance's The Elephant Man examines the integrity of one's identity. With the compassionate help of Dr. Frederick Treves, Merrick strives to regain the dignity he lost after years of being exhibited as a sideshow freak.

In Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, Nora Helmer forges a signature to save the life of her domineering husband, Torvald. She lives in constant fear of him discovering her crime and the potential damage to his career. When the truth is revealed, Nora is stunned to discover her true standing in her husband's eyes. Nora's confrontational scene with her husband resonates with themes in Children of a Lesser God.