The Language of Disabilities

People with disabilities prefer that you focus on their individuality, not their disability, unless, of course, it is the topic about which you are writing or speaking.  The term “handicapped” is falling into disuse and should be avoided.  The terms “ablebodied,” “physically challenged” and “differently abled” are also discouraged.   

The following are some recommendations: 

Never use the article “the” with an adjective to describe people with disabilities.  This preferred usage, “people with disabilities,” stresses the essential humanity of individuals and avoids objectification.  Alternatively, the term “disabled people” is acceptable, but note that this term still defines people as disabled first and people second. 

·    NOT the deaf, BUT people who are deaf (or hard of hearing)

·    NOT the visually impaired, BUT people who are visually impaired

·    NOT the disabled, BUT people with disabilities 

Be careful not to imply either that people with disabilities are to be pitied, feared, or ignored, or that they are somehow more heroic, courageous, patient or “special” than others.  Never use the term “normal” in contrast. 

A person in a wheelchair is a “wheelchair user” or “uses a wheelchair.”  Avoid terms that define the disability as a limitation, such as “confined to a wheelchair,” or “wheelchair-bound.”  A wheelchair liberates, it doesn’t confine! 

Never use the term “victim” or “sufferer” to refer to a person who has or has had a disease or disability.  This term dehumanizes the person and emphasizes powerlessness. 

·    NOT a victim of AIDS, or AIDS sufferer, BUT a person with AIDS

·    NOT a polio victim, BUT a person who had polio