- PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
INTRODUCTION
Language is a powerful tool for driving prejudice and discrimination. This is particularly so for disability issues. Historically, persons with disabilities have been labelled or called names to emphasize that they are different and do not conform to the societal norms of abilities and beauty. In some cultures in Africa, as in many other parts of the world, individuals with disabilities are addressed by their impair-ments rather than by their given names.
By using appropriate language, we can:
1. Shape positive attitudes and perceptions
2. Avoid keeping up old stereotypes
DISABILITY ETIQUETTE
- Call a person with a disability by his/her name and refer to a person’s disability only when it is relat ed to what you are talking about. For example, don’t ask “What’s wrong with you?” Don’t refer to people in general or generic terms such as “the girl in the wheelchair.”
- Talk directly to the person with a disability and not to his or her assistant, when you want to talk to the person with a disability.
- Use person-first language. Person-first language puts the person before the diagnosis and describes what the person has e.g. “a person with diabetes” or “a person with albinism”. Don’t reduce people to their condition, like “a diabetic” or “an albino”. A person is foremost a person and secondly a person with some trait.
- Ask persons with disabilities which term they prefer if they have a disability.
- When talking about people without disabilities, it is okay to say “people without disabilities.” But do not refer to them as “normal” or “healthy.” These terms can make persons with disabilities feel as though there is something wrong with them and that they are “abnormal.”
- Avoid the use of Acronyms like PWD or WWD. It is not nice to reduce people to an acronym.
- Avoid euphemistic language: such as people with different abilities.
- Use respectful language and avoid disrespectful terminology. (see table below)
RESPECTFUL TERMINOLOGY
| DISABILITY | NEGATIVE LANGUAGE | POSITIVE LANGUAGE |
| General Blind or Visual Impairment | Handicapped person, invalid, the impaired, the disabled, PWD, CWD, WWD Dumb, Invalid | Person with a disability Blind/Visually Impaired; Person who is blind/visually impaired |
| Deaf or Hearing Impairment | Invalid, Deaf-and-Dumb, Deaf- Mute | Deaf or Hard-of-hearing; Person who is deaf or hard of hearing |
| Learning Disability | Retarded, Slow, Brain- Damaged, “Special ed” | Learning disability, Cognitive disabili- ty, Person with a learning or cognitive disability |
| Psychosocial Disability | Hyper-sensitive, Psycho, Crazy, Insane, Wacko, Nuts | Person with a Psychosocial disability |
| Mobility/Physical Disability | Handicapped, Physically Challenged, “Special,” Deformed, Cripple, Gimp, Spastic, Spaz, Wheelchair-bound, Lame | Wheelchair user, Physically disabled, Person with a mobility or physical disability |
| Emotional Disability Intellectual Disability | Emotionally disturbed Retard, Mentally retarded, “Special ed” | Emotionally disabled, Person with an emotional disability Intellectual disabled/ Person with a cognitive/developmental disability |
| Short Stature, Little Person | Dwarf, Midget | Someone of short stature |
| Health Conditions | Victim, Someone “stricken with” a disability (i.e. “someone stricken with cancer” or “an AIDS victim”) | Someone “living with” a specific disability (i.e. “someone living with cancer or AIDS”) |
