DISABILITY LANGUAGE AND ETIQUETTE
LANGUAGE
Language is continually evolving, including language related to people with disabilities. Staying current is important, not to show "politically correctness" but to communicate effectively and with respect. What you say and write may enhance the dignity of people with disabilities or may inadvertently reflect stereotypes and negative attitudes.
Some words and phrases don't recognize the broad range of capabilities of people with disabilities. They don't need or want to be pitied, nor should they be labeled "courageous" or "special" because they accomplish daily activities or work. Also, people are sometimes concerned that they will say the wrong thing, so they say nothing at all - further segregating people with disabilities.
"Person First" Refer to the person first, not the disability. For example, "the person who uses a wheelchair" or "the person with arthritis" is preferred over "the wheelchair person" or "the arthritic." This last term especially defines the disability as the person rather than as one aspect of his/her life. This general rule may be different within some communities, such as those who are blind or Deaf. Individuals in these groups often self-identify as "blind person" or "Deaf person." Mention a disability only when it is relevant to the discussion.
"Handicap" and "disability" are not
synonyms! Disability is a generic term for a condition which may affect a
person's mobility, hearing, vision, speech, or cognitive function (such as paraplegia,
deafness, AIDS). Handicap describes a barrier that is environmental or attitudinal
(such as no ramps or elevator, information not available in Braille, negative stereotypes).
ETIQUETTE
If you have had little interaction with people who have disabilities, you may feel uncertain about what to do. Here are a few tips.
Shaking hands is usually welcome. People with limited hand use or who wear an
artificial limb can usually shake hands. Shaking hands with the left hand is an acceptable
greeting. You may want to take the cue from the individual with a disability.
(A person who is blind won't see your extended hand – wait to see if she extends hers.)
When talking with a person who has a disability, look at and speak directly to that person
rather than to a companion, aide, or sign language interpreter.
Common words and phrases are OK to use. For example, it's fine to say "see you later" to a blind person, or "Want to go for a walk?" to a wheelchair user.
See also: Providing Quality Services to People with Disabilities
Want more information? Contact the Disability Compliance Specialist at OCR.
When referring to people with
disabilities,
choose words that reflect dignity and respect, such as:
| Inappropriate language |
Appropriate language |
| the disabled |
people with disabilities, the disability community
(disabled, an adjective, must be accompanied by a noun) |
| the blind, the deaf |
the blind community, the Deaf community |
| crippled, suffers from, afflicted with, stricken with, victim of, invalid |
has a disability, is a person with a disability, physically disabled, walks with a cane, uses leg braces |
| normal person, healthy, whole |
non-disabled, able-bodied, person without disabilities |
| impaired, impairment |
disabled, has a disability |
| handicap parking, disabled parking |
accessible parking, disability parking |
| wheelchair bound, confined to a wheelchair, wheelchair person |
wheelchair user, person who uses a wheelchair |
| paraplegic, quadriplegic |
man with paraplegia, woman who is paralyzed, person with
spinal cord injury |
| hearing impaired, hearing impairment |
deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened |
| visually impaired, visual impairment |
low vision, partially sighted, blind |
| dumb, mute |
person who is unable to speak, has difficulty speaking, uses synthetic speech, is non-vocal, non-verbal |
| stutterer, tongue-tied |
person who has a speech or communication disability |
| CP victim, spastic |
person with cerebral palsy |
| epileptic |
person with epilepsy, person with seizure disorder |
| fit, attack |
seizure, epileptic episode or event |
| crazy, insane, nuts, psycho |
person with mental illness, person living with mental illness |
| retard, mentally defective, moron, imbecile, Down's person, mongoloid |
person with an intellectual, cognitive, or developmental disability |
| slow learner, retarded |
has a learning disability, person with specific learning disability, person with ADHD |
| dwarf, midget |
person of small stature, short stature; little person |
| birth defect |
congenital disability, disabled from birth |
| post-polio, suffered from polio |
person who had polio, person with post polio syndrome, polio survivor |
| homebound |
stay-at-home, hard for the person to get out |
Disability Access and Compliance | Your comments about this
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Updated: May 2, 2007
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