Such undue praise can marginalize, isolate, or unduly glorify what is a medical fact or quality that is but one part of the individual's experience. When describing a combination of racial/ethnic groups (for example, 3 or more sub-groups) use people from some racial and ethnic groups or people from racial and ethnic minority groups. PDF Respectful Disability Language: Here's What's Up! Impairment The term has often been used derisively . As a nephew of a Downs uncle (whom I am proudly named after), and an enthusiastic supporter of the community, long-time S.O. First, what does disability itself mean? The other strives to be more sober, but also elegant and comfortable when spoken and written. I dont know what to say, really, because I know if I tell you something, someone else will be telling you something different. Everyone is pretty sick of it. . It has led to my own personal empowerment because most of my growing up years involved me being ashamed of my hearing handicapped status as I was mainstreamed in public schools and often the ONLY deaf person in the class. You are a real hero!") "Person with a Disability" is a more inclusive, less biased term to describe someone who is disabled . We're black." 38. Some people say that using different terms to refer to people gives in to a movement to be politically correct. First I want to quote another parent like me, who did a similar post almost a year ago. Dont call us special needs. Our needs are not special, they are human. Is there a way for anyone to navigate disability language clearly, safely, and respectfully? The current terms in use by the deaf community today are deaf and hard of hearing. - Father Joe Carroll. Term Now Used: disabled person, person with a disability. So, what do you do? 3. Less Appropriate: (the) disabled, (the) deaf, (the) blind, (the) mentally retarded, Comment: Terms describe a group only in terms of their disabilities (adjective) and not as people (noun). American Indian or Alaska Native should only be used to describe persons with different tribal affiliations or when the tribal affiliations are not known or not known to be the same. I also know that there are people who disagree with me, and thats ok too. There are a dozen ways to analyze and justify or criticize this intellectually, but its also just the way things work with people who are marginalized or oppressed. One interesting thing to note is that nearly all of these insulting, offensive terms were once commonly accepted, even clinical descriptions for various disabilities. Mortal flesh heals quicker than an immortal soul, and that soul is what has the potential to be hurt in a word. Mental illness is a general condition. But just like learning about mourning (cringe) and autistic and people first language, this is where I am learning. Use disabled people not the disabled as the collective term. The social psychology of disability. This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/inclusive-language-words-to-use-and-avoid-when-writing-about-disability. People who use wheelchairs go for walks and people with visual impairments may be very pleased or not to see you. Recognize obviously insulting terms and stop using or tolerating them. is not a good idea, either. . Jamie Davis Smith also echoes my sentiments, which apply to this issue and the People First Language issue. The group urges using positive language that avoids referring to people with disabilities as "the disabled, the blind, the epileptics, a quadriplegic," etc. We are all judged on how we communicate, no laws are necessary for this age old ritual. Describes that which is different about ANY person as all simply have needs., More Appropriate: (none is needed), accommodations are needed, Less Appropriate: physically challenged, handi-capable, inconvenienced, differently-abled, Comment: To some people, these euphemisms avoid reality and rob people of dignity. In the words of Lawrence Carter-Long: A need isn't special if other people get to take the same thing for granted. Stay tuned. The term disability is perceived as negative and not politically correct. Why we, as parents should rethink using the term special needs. Avoid using vulnerable when describing people with disabilities. Dont automatically refer to disabled people in all communications many people who need disability benefits and services dont identify with this term. We recommend using this section as a guide and inspiration to reflect upon word choice and choose words carefully, inclusively, and appropriately for a specific use and audience. I was about as wounded as a soul can get when I met him, and he taught me how to hold hands, Summer Blog Hop Series: CHALLENGE! General term used for a functional limitation that interferes with a person's ability for example, to walk, lift, hear, or learn. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. A few highlights of the document: Put the person first. They're just in trouble, but there's a way to help them.". For example, use "people with mental illnesses" not "the mentally . Appropriate Language About People With Disabilities Ask the people you are with which term they prefer if they have a disability. A philosophical observation: By using the term impaired, society has expanded the meaning of the word, making it less precise. Lawrence Carter-Long, who founded the movement called Disabled, Say the Word, says, "The language we use mirrors the ways we think," he says. Is Special Needs Offensive? Using phrases like "person with a disability" and "individual with an amputation" emphasizes the person and not his or her condition. You can read more of her thoughts in that link. What if you want to use the actual meaning of the word in a correct context, like retard growth? Over the years, with a lot of self maturity I learned to share my disability so that others would not just deem me rude when I didnt respond to them. Somewhere around 15-20% of the human population is disabled. Use as a descriptive noun or adjective, such as person living with AIDS, woman who is blind. Arrrrrghhhh! What is the politically correct term for disabled? Word and phrases that have been accepted and entered into our day to day vocabulary that enhance the inclusion of individuals or groups of people, usually found in minorities in our societies and communities. Not all members of the disability community think person-first language is the best choice. Im allowed to call myself a spaz. Several months ago, I did a blog post about People First Language, and why it shouldnt be mandated. But after 8 years of blogging, it will take me forever to find every instance where it says special needs and replace it. Please contact us with any questions or comments at HEGuidingPrinciples@cdc.gov. The argument is straightforward: use of these honest, candid and less euphemistic terms and phrases enables groups and the individuals within them to "claim" their disabilities with pride. Note that it is widely used as a legal term in documents, on signs, etc. Emphasizes the medical aspects of a condition instead of the person. Unacceptable: disability-friendly, disabled toilets/parking. Is disability a politically correct term? - TimesMojo However, she actually is not handicapped herself; rather, the handicapping element is in the environment, not within her. More Appropriate: acknowledge the persons abilities and individuality, Less Appropriate: isnt it wonderful how he has overcome his/her disability?. Any well-meaning persons reasons for the choices they believe in are largely secondary compared to respecting what how disabled person wants to be talked about and referred to. Evolution and Inclusive Language: Creating a New Term for Visual A disability is a condition or quality linked to a particular person. What is a less offensive synonym for "retarded"? Now, its just a term that you should be staying way the hell away from (see. He needs to communicate and to eat, go to school, get a job, have friends and leisure activities. If youre reading this, got this far and are still saying to yourself, Words, schmords, it sounds nicer so who cares? Heres one for you. Language in communication products should reflect and speak to the needs of people in the audience of focus. Hurt. I suggest you read the entire essay. A politically correct word or expression is used instead of another one to avoid being offensive: Some people think that "fireman" is a sexist term, and prefer the politically correct term "firefighter." . Speaking as someone with a few years of experience working with people with developmental disabilities the current politically correct term is what I just used. Here's why you shouldn't use them, and what to say instead. That doesnt mean every adult from those communities, just like not every adult with Down syndrome is asking you to quit saying the r-word; but enough of them, the majority of them, identify as having adisability, not aspecial need. A PC term for mental retardation is "intellectual disability". That is, its person-first language a person with a disability until the person sees disability as an identity, then it becomes identify first. We are carefully taught by one wave of credible activists and diversity consultants to say people with disabilities, only to be told by a later generation of disabled people that this diminishes the experience and meaning of disability, and is in any case awkward and a little condescending. Stutterer, tongue-tied ; Person with a speech impairment, who has a speech . More Appropriate: Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, speech impaired, Less Appropriate: lame, paralytic, gimp, gimpy,withered hand. At the end of that post, I said this:Up next: Ill be tackling special needs. Because that vernacular is seeing a shift too. People should be allowed to use terms that mean something to them. When referring to people who are experiencing symptoms (for example, depression, anxiety) but a condition has not been diagnosed or the symptoms may not reach a clinical threshold, consider: Persons experiencing persistent high stress or anxiety, Asylum seeker; people who are seeking asylum, Non-U.S.-born persons/foreign-born persons, Use accurate and clearly defined terms when referring to foreign-born persons. Respectful Language for Those with Limited Mobility or Disabilities As Michelle Swan says in her essay My Needs are not Special, "My needs are not special, they are just my needs, and I have the same right to have my needs met as any other person.". Examples: contributors, community, community members, community impacted, community affected, community of solution, coalition members, allies, colleagues, clients, tribes, advocacy groups, interested parties/groups, implementing partners, working partners, funders. Comment: Terms implies mental incapacitation occurs with hearing loss and/or speech impairment. In between my life lived with disabilities and being a parent of a child with a disability, Ive seen an awful lot of upset over words that are directed towards the disability community, however inadvertently. Debilitated. Saying disabled is fine; person with a disability is fine too, but see how the person wants to be referred to as. How should nondisabled people refer to disabled persons? You should also avoid using terms like 'able-bodied' as this implies people . I can tell you that in my childhood and young adulthood I spent a LOT of time and energy being utterly disturbed by what I personally saw and heard, in terms of other peoples response to, understanding of, and interaction with my uncle Christian and other people who may be a little different from average. Politically Correct Language of Disability | Disabled World They all sound . Required fields are marked *, By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Consider using words other than stakeholder when appropriate for your audience and subject matter, recognizing it may not always be possible to do so. In the meantime, the best thing for all of us, disabled or not, is to follow these kinds of basic guidelines, listen to disabled people, and relax a little. Invalid. Worked for me. He is currently editor-in-chief of the Oxford Bibliographies (OB): Psychology and a member of Board of the Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology. Embracing the word disabled, fighting the urge and the conditioning that demands we distance ourselves from it, is a powerful illustration of self-determination in action. Terms like "differently abled" do more harm than good. It wasn't a matter of being politically correct, but a matter of common decency. Calling my son anything else does not make him any less disabled. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. Most of the . Don't use: "Schizophrenic, psychotic, disturbed, crazy or insane". I will still make mistakes. Heres one for the numbers geeks out there. By doing so, a disabled individual intentionally chooses an identity rather than allowing others even well meaning others, such as family, friends and medical professionals to do so for them. Do not use underserved when you really mean disproportionately affected. In 1991, the World Federation of the Deaf voted to use the official terms deaf and hard of hearing. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. Wheelchair users may not view themselves as confined to a wheelchair try thinking of it as a mobility aid instead. Persons aged [numeric age group] (for example, persons aged 55-64 years), Elders when referring to older adults in a cultural context, Elderly or frail elderly when referring to older adults in a specific clinical context, People who are at increased/higher risk for [condition], People who live/work in settings that put them at increased/higher risk of becoming infected or exposed to hazards, Referring to people as their race/ethnicity (for example, Blacks, Hispanics, Latinos, Whites, American Indians, etc. What is another word for mentally challenged? A disability is any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or effectively interact with the world around them (socially or materially). Shifting your perspective can help you reframe how you think and speak about people with mental illnesses and similar stigmatized subjects. It should be noted however, that the same terminology does not necessarily apply in other countries. Dumb, mute ; Person who cannot speak, has difficulty speaking, uses synthetic speech, is non-vocal, non-verbal . Disability and disabled work elegantly simply to describe the shared social identity of all people who have any kind of disability. The Top 20 Questions on "Politically Correct" Terms [with Answers Its the constant little pin-pricks of being called what we specifically ask to NOT be called from the handi-capable, special needs, the references to wheelchair bound, and the differently-abled.. Disabled people, their families and friends, their allies and casual acquaintances, and their antagonists cant agree on which words strike the right balance between accuracy, clarity, realism, and positivity. Shouldnt he have the right to enter every door that I enter, without a hassle? What Is The Politically Correct Term For Special Needs? To take another quote from the blog post I mentioned earlier: Disability. I think whats important is that we all acknowledge that were on different parts of this journey and have things to learn. In the UK, for instance, they prefer the phrase "disabled people". As a Deaf person with Parkinsons and the father of two sons with Autism, I thank you for this well-thought out and written article. 3. Special needs WAS an educational term, not a disability term. Rather, individuals with disabilities are always referred to in US law as individuals with disabilities. Person first was supposed to emphasize personhood in contrast with summing up people by their disabilities. Obviously, its impossible to satisfy everyone. Is there any alternative to person-first language? What is the politically correct term for learning disability? But many disabled people increasingly feel that their disabilities are not invaders or merely inconvenient attributes, but something more central to who they are. The following provides some preferred terms for select population groups; these terms attempt to represent an ongoing shift toward non-stigmatizing language. Why? Specific disorders are types of mental illness and should be used whenever possible (for example, when not referring to people with different mental health disorders collectively). It makes the solutions seem like a favor. What term do we use for disabled person *? Incapacitated. Moron, idiot, cretin, mongo all fall under that as well as retard. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. When in doubt, then, the wisest and kindest choice is simply to ask people about their preferences. Pay attention to the words adults with disabilities use most often. Personnally, I like . Term no longer in use: the handicapped. And read things written by disabled people, too. Bear in mind, of course, that some challenges remain. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. When is a word okay? Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).