I'm not sure I understand what the problem is. It appears the columnist is talking about pictures that the textbook publishers are commissioning specifically for publication in their textbooks, using professional photographers, models, etc. It seems to me that such a picture is an illustration, not an editorial or news picture.

If the pictures he's talking about purport to be of actual events, then the problem of fakery goes well beyond able-bodied children in wheelchairs. After all, if models are being used at all, then the entire picture is "fake," so to speak. But I suspect that the pictures in question are simply illustrative--the columnist is not completely clear on this.

So what if the model in the wheelchair is actually able-bodied? How is that any different than photographing a model in a fancy car that he doesn't actually own? Or photographing a model about to skydive from a plane when he won't actually jump? How is the able-bodied child in the wheelchair any different from anything else that was staged in the photograph, including every single other model in the shot?