![]() Less Appropriate: confined to a wheelchair, wheelchair-bound, wheel-chairedĬomment: Terms create a false impression: wheelchairs liberate, not confine or bind they are mobility tools from which people transfer to sleep, sit in other chairs, drive cars, stand, etc. More Appropriate : Bob has polio, – has a spinal cord injury, – has AIDS Emphasizes the “heart string” or telethon-ish perspective. Less Appropriate: Bob is afflicted with, – stricken with, – suffers from, – a victim of polio, – spinal cord injury, – AIDSĬomment: Terms reflect negative and tragedy and connote pitiful helplessness, dependency, defeat. More Appropriate : Sue has arthritis, – diabetes, – paralyzed, – has paralysis in her legs Emphasizes the medical aspects of a condition instead of the person. Less Appropriate: Sue is an arthritic, – diabetic, – paraplegicĬomment: Terms are variations of the condition and describes someone as the condition and implies the person is an object of medical care. More Appropriate : people with disabilities, deaf people, blind people, persons with a developmental disability Check to see which term individuals might prefer.) (The debate over the use of handicap versus disabled has not been settled. Humanizing phrases emphasize the person even if the adjective of the disability is included. Less Appropriate: (the) disabled, (the) deaf, (the) blind, (the) mentally retardedĬomment: Terms describe a group only in terms of their disabilities (adjective) and not as people (noun). The following is intended as suggestion, not censorship, in choosing more appropriate terms. ![]() However, conscious thought about what we say, and when we say it, may help to more positively reshape how we communicate about disability in society. While some words/phrases are commonly used by many, including those with disabilities, usage is likely due to habit rather than intentional meaning. ![]() The terms used for people with disabilities all too frequently perpetuate stereotypes and false ideas.
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