They're not strangers. Saving Lives, Protecting People, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting, Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, People/persons who are incarcerated or detained (often used for shorter jail stays, for youth in detention facilitiesor for other persons awaiting immigration proceedingsin detention facilities), Persons detained by or under the custody of (specify agency) (for example, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] or other agencies), Confined to a wheelchair or wheelchair-bound, People who are deaf or hard of hearing or who are blind or have low vision, People with an intellectual or developmental disability, People who use a wheelchair or mobility device. Other terms, tribal communities/populations or indigenous communities/populations, could also be used to refer to groups with multiple tribal affiliations. When talking about people without disabilities, it is okay to say "people without disabilities." 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. She received the 2013 APA Div. One reason why disability language is still so controversial is that there is an almost hidden but quite fundamental clash between what people are trying to do with the words they choose and the phrases they craft to talk about disability. A community. A little person is one of the more than 200 medical conditions known as dwarfism. The Backlash. Not everyone will agree on everything but there is general agreement on some basic guidelines. Disabled people needto get access to community transit, theaters, restaurants, swimming pools, shopping malls, and everything else that you and I access without even thinking about it. An inclusive and diverse environment isn't just about hiring people that "look good" on the brochure. What words should we use to refer to people with disabilities? Perhaps the thinking is if we can make disability a positive thing than we can diminish our own fears about the . A PC term for mental retardation is "intellectual disability". I couldnt agree with her more. Using phrases like "person with a disability" and "individual with an amputation" emphasizes the person and not his or her condition. For example, use "people with mental illnesses" not "the mentally . More Appropriate: acknowledge the persons abilities and individuality, Less Appropriate: isnt it wonderful how he has overcome his/her disability?. Ive been a person with a disability for most of my life, and a member of the Down syndrome community (thanks to my daughter!) It is okay to use words or phrases such as "disabled," "disability," or "people with disabilities" when talking about disability issues. Paralyzed, spastic, and victim are no longer used terms. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. In practice, this means that instead of referring to a "disabled person," use "person with a disability." Lawrence Carter-Long, who founded the movement called Disabled, Say the Word, says, "The language we use mirrors the ways we think," he says. In regards to accessible facilities: Acceptable: accessible toilets/parking, parking for blue or orange badge holders. Consider using words other than stakeholder when appropriate for your audience and subject matter, recognizing it may not always be possible to do so. Traumatic Brain Injury Resources and Blog Posts, Cool Cats: Voices from the Disability Community, International Alliance of Writers for Down Syndrome: The T21 Alliance, The Right Things to Say to Someone with a Chronic Illness, The famous person or situation or whatever apologizes. Disability Disability is a term used to describe people who have a mental or physical impairment which has a long-term effect on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. ), Referring to people as colored people, colored Indian (to refer to American Indian), Native American (for federal publications), The [racial/ethnic] community (for example, the Black community), Non-White (used with or without specifying non-Hispanic or Latino), American Indian or Alaska Native persons/communities/populations, Black or African American persons; Black persons, People who identify with more than one race; people of more than one race; persons of multiple races, The racial and ethnic group terms provided in CDCs Health Equity Guiding Principles align with those in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). To take another quote from the blog post I mentioned earlier: Disability. Hearing-impaired - This term is no longer accepted by most in the community but was at one time preferred, largely because it was viewed as politically correct. American Psychological Association. 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. The word disabled is a description not a group of people. Despite my best efforts and intentions, I still am only a parent and not a disabled person. Term Now Used: disabled person, person with a disability. The National Association of the Deaf supports these terms, and they are used by most organizations involved with the Deaf community. OMG thats so annoying. Disability is a particular way of seeing, hearing, feeling, thinking, moving, learning, sensing, being. More Appropriate: Bob has polio, has a spinal cord injury, has AIDS, Less Appropriate: confined to a wheelchair, wheelchair-bound, wheel-chaired. 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). If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Consider the audience when determining the appropriate term(s) to use. For example, the National Federation for the Blind has long advocated for identity-firstlanguage, preferring "blind person" over the person-firstconstructions like "individual with blindness" or "person who is blind." Some tips on behaviour. 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. Its a way of experiencing the world. A disability is present when activities usually performed by people (such as walking, talking, reading or learning) are in some way restricted. Search the term politically correct, and youll find it defined as the belief that language and actions that could be offensive to others, especially those relating to sex and race, should be avoided. thats so awesome/not awesome and YES. Some groups within the disability community, which is arguably the largest minority group in the U.S., have already established their language preferences. Exploring disability practices, policy, politics, and culture. Ask the people you are with which term they prefer if they have a disability. 56. Almost no term is as insulting as a non-disabled person patiently or aggressively explaining to a disabled . A few highlights of the document: Put the person first. The correct term is "disability"a person with a disability. Best practices include engaging people from the population or community of focus to find out what they prefer. Because many people have asked me if its still politically correct to use the term special needs, and what to say instead. A disability is a condition or quality linked to a particular person. Yet many well-meaning, but misinformed, people persist in referring to us as "hearing impaired.". Do not use disabilities as nouns to refer to people. This claiming can be about disability more generally or with regards to a particular disability. Comment: Terms are variations of the condition and describes someone as the condition and implies the person is an object of medical care. They are individuals who can do some things and cant do other things. I'm a counselor, Hawai'i based global nomad. Crippled, Disabled, HandicappedWhich Word Should I Use? We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. Person-first terminology is used . So while moron and idiot in the 19th and early 20th centuries were clinical terms for different levels of intellectual disability, the horrifically disdainful and disgusted opinions about intellectually disabled people helped make those words insulting, at the time and especially today. What is politically correct language? | EHLION It is hard to pinpoint exactly when the politically correct movement in the disability community started, but the movement has stirred some controversy. It may refer to a physical, sensory, or mental condition. 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.. Deaf? Disabled? What To Call Those With Hearing Loss - AARP for over a decade. Are you friggin kidding me? By that I mean they assume that most of the applicants will have access to the curriculum (even if its lousy) and can participate in whatever afterschool programs are offered (even if theres a limited list). When will people realize how precious our Downs community is, and how much they have to teach the rest of us about loving kindness. When I was growing up, my parents used to say that the kids that made fun of me didnt have a good excuse for being the way they were and that their condition would be far more difficult to live with as they matured (if they did at all)! All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Knowing how to sensitively refer to members of diverse groups is also important. Even U.S. law has changed from using the term "mental retardation" to the term "intellectual disability." Just Politically Correct? In that post she said, I also want to say that Im just one person, going through my process. Little People/Dwarfism - RespectAbility The condition that causes dwarfism may also cause other symptoms. American Indian and Alaska Natives are the only federally recognized political minority in the United States. The language of Disability A word reclaimed. Arrrrrghhhh! And yet they have always carried the assumed prejudices of those times towards the people those terms represented. "Visual impairment" is considered the accepted and politically correct term for describing the whole spectrum of vision, or the lack thereof, experienced by people with a visual disability. For decades, that provision of services has been known as "special education." Many school districts have moved to referring to the provision of services as "exceptional education." The word has been around for centuries, but was not used to refer to people with disabilities until the late 1800s. Stakeholders are persons or groups who have an interest or concern in a project, activity, or course of action. Colorado State Universitysland acknowledgment is a statement crafted by a variety of Indigenous faculty and staff, as well as other officials at CSU. Person with a disability is now referred to as a disabled person. What is the politically correct term for disabled? Lawrence Carter-Long, who founded the movement called Disabled, Say the Word, says, The language we use mirrors the ways we think, he says. Identity-first language promotes use of phrases like "amputee," "diabetic" and "disabled person" (but not "victim" or similar negative words) where disability identity comes first. 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. A disability is present when activities usually performed by people (such as walking, talking, reading or learning) are in some way restricted. Finally, non-disabled people shouldn't lecture disabled people on correct terminology. Comment: People with disabilities are not collectively inspirational or courageous. 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. Evolving terminology allows . 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. Debilitated. Before I became disabled myself, I worked in a field that served people with a variety of disabilities. The concept has been discussed, disputed, criticized, and satirized by commentators from across the political spectrum. In the words of Lawrence Carter-Long: A need isn't special if other people get to take the same thing for granted. We are still friends. Almost no term is as insulting as a non-disabled person patiently or aggressively explaining to a disabled person why their own way of talking about themselves is wrong. Writing About Race, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Disability The Down syndrome community is sick of it, the greater (cross-disability) disability is sick of it, and there we go. It doesnt work! However, conscious thought about what we say, and when we say it . Person with a disability is now referred to as a disabled person. 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. Note that it is widely used as a legal term in documents, on signs, etc. People With Disabilities Or Disabled People? What Is Correct? Those are words that have evolved but still carry some of their original meaning. The meaning of POLITICALLY CORRECT is conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated. Its not negative. Comment: One commenter observed that there are "many gradations" in the type or severity of intellectual disabilities, which the term "intellectual disability" could encompass. As I am trying to grow and learn about ableism, I have tried to go back and update the particularly cringe-worthy ones. Disabled not 'special needs': Experts explain why we shouldn't say it Identify-first is: deaf person, blind person, disabled person. Since we're talking about replacements for "crippled," we'll focus on the physical disabilities, which is why "disabled" still works as the best replacement. What Is Political Correctness? Definition, Pros, and Cons - ThoughtCo We choose the words we want to use for ourselves, not others! By coming up with all kinds of phrases and words to avoid saying disabled/disability inherently implies that those words are so negative, they just shouldnt be said. Which is the correct term, disability rights or handicapped rights?
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