Appropriate Language
What is a Disability?
There are many types of disabilities and many degrees; visible or hidden; temporary, permanent or unpredictable; cognitive, developmental and many others.
Some groups find the following definition helpful. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), defines disability as the outcome of the interaction between a person with an impairment and the environmental and attitudinal barriers one may face.
In search of human understanding, there has been a social and medical tendency to normalize the body and mind based on socially constructed assumptions. For example, the medical model of disability assumes the body should be an able body, and any forms of abnormality are in need of rehabilitation. Disability activists struggle with defining disability because it has a personal definition relative to context, place, and time. Moreover, what disables a person are social attitudes and physical barriers.
Do you feel that you have a disability? How we think about ourselves often affects how others see us. 'Disability' can also be defined in terms of whether or not you meet the qualifications for certain programs, services, supports or assistance in your workplace, city and country. Depending on where you live, certain disabilities may not be viewed as legitimate and credible for support and assistance. This raises the following questions such as who determines what is legitimate. Who determines what is credible?
Examples of specific disabilities:
- Blindness and visual impairments
- Deafness and hearing impairments
- Learning disabilities
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Mental illness
- Hidden disabilities (cancer, epilepsy, diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, early stages of AIDS, anemia, hemophilia and more)
- Developmental disabilities (Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, autism, more)
- Mobility impairments
- Acquired brain injuries
Language
It is common among those without disabilities to feel intimidated. Many people don't know how to appropriately address persons with disabilities or disability issues. But language shapes the way we understand the world and the people around us. Language has the power to empower, and to oppress. The use of appropriate language is imperative when discussing disability because one can easily objectify and show disrespect for persons with disabilities.
So what is appropriate language? The first step is to be aware of the structure of language. For instance, a sentence should use a word "person" before the word "disability." This is because the person is not wholly defined by their disability, but rather the disability is part of the person. By suggesting that the disability comes before the person, one can easily objectify and stigmatize the individual unintentionally.
Here are a few examples of people-first terminology:
- Affirmative phrase:
- Person with a disability
- Negative phrase:
- The disabled, handicapped, crippled, suffers from a disability
- Affirmative phrase:
- Person who is deaf, person with a hearing impairment
- Negative phrase:
- The deaf; deaf and dumb; suffers a hearing loss
- Affirmative phrase:
- Person with mental illness
- Negative phrase:
- Crazy; psycho; lunatic
- Affirmative phrase:
- Person who uses a wheelchair
- Negative phrase:
- Confined or restricted to a wheelchair; wheelchair-bound
Tips
Avoid sensationalizing a disability by adding dramatic adjectives such as: "afflicted with," "suffers from" or "crippled with." These expressions are considered offensive and inaccurate to persons with disabilities.
Source: "Speaking with Awareness" (PDF) from Access and Opportunities: A Guide to Disability Awareness, VSA arts