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If you saw a person in a wheelchair unable to get up the stairs into a building, would
you say "there is a handicapped person unable to find a ramp"? Or would you say
"them is a person with a disability who. is handicapped by an inaccessible
building"? What do you see first?
- The wheelchair?
- The physical problem?
What is the proper way to speak to or about someone who has a disability?
Consider how you would introduce someone - Jane Doe - who doesn't have a disability.
You would give her name, where she lives, what she does or what she is interested in --
she likes swimming, or eating Mexican food, or watching Robert Redford movies.
Why say it differently for a person with disabilities? Every person is made up
of many characteristics - mental as well as physical -- and few want to be identified only
by their ability to play tennis or by their love for fried onions or by the mole that's on
their face. Those are just parts of US. In speaking or
writing, remember that children or adults with disabilities are like everyone else -
except they happen to have a disability. Therefore, here are a few tips for improving your
language related to disabilities and handicaps.
- Speak of the person first, then the disability.
- Emphasize abilities, not limitations.
- Do not label people as part of a disability group - don't
say "the disabled"; say "people with disabilities."
- Don't give excessive praise or attention to a person with a disability; don't patronize
them.
- Choice and independence are important; let the person do or speak for him/herself as
much as possible; if addressing an adult, say "Bill" instead of
"Billy."
- A disability is a functional limitation that interferes with a person's ability to walk,
hear, talk, learn, etc.; use handicap to describe a situation or barrier imposed by
society, the environment or oneself.
| SAY . . , |
INSTEAD OF |
| Child with a disability |
Disabled or handicapped child |
| Person with cerebral palsy |
Palsied, or C.P., or spastic |
| Person who has (or with)____________ |
Afflicted, suffers from, victim |
| Without speech |
Nonverbal mute. or dumb |
| Developmental delay |
Slow |
| Emotional disorder or mental illness |
Crazy or insane |
| Deaf or hearing impaired and communicates with sign |
Deaf and dumb |
| Uses a wheelchair |
Wheelchair bound or confined to a wheelchair |
| Person with mental retardation |
Retarded |
| Person with epilepsy |
Epileptic |
| With Down Syndrome |
Mongoloid |
| Has a learning disability |
Learning disabled |
| No-disability |
Normal, healthy |
| Congenital disability |
Birth defect |
| Condition |
Disease (unless it is a disease) |
| Seizures |
Fits |
| Cleft lip |
Hare lip |
| Mobility impairment |
Lame |
| Medically involved or has chronic illness |
Sickly |
| Has hemiplegia (paralysis of one side of the body) |
Hemiplegic |
| Has quadriplegia (paralysis of both arms and legs) |
Quadriplegic |
| Has paraplegia (loss of function in lower body only) |
Paraplegic |
| Of short stature |
Dwarf or midget |
What else can you do? If you
see or hear reporters use incorrect terminology (even to save space in a headline or time
on the air), call them up or send them this page so they can be aware of the
appropriate words to use. Tell them it matters to you and to people with disabilities.
(Additional guidelines are available from PACER.) |