When Talking To or About People with Disabilities
The following information details terminology that should be avoided when talking to or about people with disabilities. The information was taken from literature published by the Ohio Governor's Council on People with Disabilities and the President's Committee on Employment of Persons with Disabilities.
Afflicted -- It is a negative work and suggests hopelessness. Use "has" instead.
Patient -- A term reserved only for doctors or hospitals. Because someone has a disability does not mean they are "sick" or are cared for regularly by a hospital or doctor. (Home car nurses are being taught to refer to the people they work wit as their "consumers" or "clients.")
Confined to a wheelchair or wheelchair-bound -- A person who uses wheelchair.
Impaired -- Means "spoiled" or "damaged." A negative word. Correct word would be "disabled," or "limited" (when describing function).
Crippled -- This term is "Biblical" and portrays a person who can't do anything, someone to be ignored.
Deaf and dumb or Deaf-mute -- These out-of-date terms were used to describe a person who could not speak or hear. Many deaf people can speak, but choose not to, since their speech may be hard to understand. Deafness does not make a person "dumb" or "ignorant." Use "deaf" or "hard of hearing."
Gimp -- Another out-of-date word, once used to describe people who walked wit a limp. It's a put-down.
Suffering -- This means that the person is in constant pain as a result of the disability -- rarely the case.
Victim -- People who are "sacrificed" or a "casualty" or an uncontrollable force. People with disabilities do not want to be considered "helpless" or "victims," but as "people" with many worthwhile attributes.
Unfortunate -- This implies "unlucky." "unsuccessful" or "a social outcast." People with disabilities just want to be regarded as real, ordinary people.
Retard or retarded -- If a person is considered "awkward" or "different," it does not mean that they are retarded. People with mental retardation prefer to be called by their own names.
Disease -- Describes a contagious condition. Most people with disabilities are as healthy as anyone else.
Mobility impaired, hearing impaired, vision impaired, physically impaired, mentally impaired, etc. -- None of these terms are acceptable because they all contain "impaired."
Challenged -- Signifies a task someone takes on to "overcome." People with disabilities did not have a choice whether to have a disability or to not have a disability. It happened! They did choose to get on with the rest of their lives in the best way they can and do not have to "overcome" the disability to do so.
Spastic -- Some people with disabilities have muscles that contort and contract on their own. Sometimes this can be controlled by medicine. It is a product of the disability and should not be ridiculed.
Normal -- Should never be used when referring to people. When used to describe a person without a disability, it suggests that a person with a disability is "abnormal" or "subnormal."
Cerebral palsied, Epileptic -- Person with cerebral palsy, person with epilepsy.
Courageous -- People with disabilities are not usually "brave" and do not want to be regarded as "super heroes." They simply have the will to live and enjoy life's pleasures as everyone else.
Handicapped -- Please remember, "people" always first, i.e. "people with disabilities." When talking about "people," the word is "disability." When talking about "barriers," the work is "handicapped." The word "handicap" is a negative word because of what it represents (how the word was coined): "cap in hand" which was how people with disabilities had to make a living many years ago (by begging). Today, people with disabilities are working, paying taxes and becoming an integral part of society.