Objectives

Upon completing this unit you should be able to:

1. Define acceptable and preferred disability terms

2. Recognize unacceptable terms

3. Describe the rules to determine if terms are appropriate

4. Explain negative and positive phrases

5. Recognize disability access symbols

6. Accept and value people first language

Introduction

Listed below are acceptable and preferred terms that reflect a positive attitude in portraying disabilities. The general terms disability and handicap are described first, but remaining terms are listed alphabetically. The following terms refer to conditions, not people.

Lesson 4.1 Acceptable Terms

Disability (Disabled, Physically Disabled) - General term used for a (semi) permanent condition that interferes with a person’s ability to do something independently -- walk, see, hear, learn, lift. It may refer to a physical, mental, or sensory condition. Preferred usage is as a descriptive noun or adjective, as in people who are disabled or people with disabilities.

Amputation - A condition lacking all or parts of one or more limbs.

Blindness - A condition resulting in a total loss of eyesight. Not appropriate for people with partial vision. Use partially sighted, with partial vision, or visually impaired.

Cerebral Palsy - A condition resulting from damage to the brain before, during or after birth. The person with cerebral palsy lacks muscle control; movement can be exaggerated and/or uncontrollable.

Congenital Disability - Describes a disability that has existed since birth. The term birth defect is not appropriate. This condition includes mental retardation, head injuries, learning disabilities, strokes.

Deaf / Profoundly Deaf - A condition resulting in a total loss of hearing. Not appropriate for people with partial hearing. Use partial hearing or hearing impaired.

Developmental Disability - Describes any mental and/or physical disability incurred before the age of 22 that may continue indefinitely. The disability may substantially limit major activities and require lifelong support. Term includes individuals with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, down’s syndrome, spina bifida, learning disabilities, sensory impairments, mental illness, congenital disabilities, traumatic accidents or other disease processes.

Dwarfism - A condition of arrested growth; characterized by exceptionally short body length, specifically with unusually short arms or legs.

Hemiplegia - A condition resulting in a total or partial paralysis of one side of the body that results from disease of or injury to the motor centers of the brain.

Quadriplegia - A condition whereas an individual is affected with paralysis of both arms and both legs.

Paraplegia - A condition whereas an individual is affected with paralysis to the lower half of the body with involvement of both legs.

Physically Challenged - used at times to portray a positive light, but it is viewed by many people with disabilities to be condescending and to unnecessarily sugar coat the fact of a disability.

Spastic - Describes a muscle with sudden, abnormal involuntary spasms. It is not appropriate for describing a person with cerebral palsy. Muscles are spastic, not people.

Special - Describes that which is different or uncommon about any person. Except when citing laws or regulations, it is not an appropriate term to describe people with disabilities in general.

Spina Bifida - A condition resulting from a birth defect that occurs early in a pregnancy. It is sometimes referred to as split or open spine. Nerve damage occurs as a result of the improperly formed spine, affecting muscle function and sensation.

Spinal Cord Injury - An injury to the spinal cord resulting from an accident, such as automobile, gunshot, or diving. Depending on the level of injury, impairment of the following functions is often present: walking, changing positions, dressing, eating, writing, driving a car, personal hygiene (bathing, grooming, going to the restroom), or other functions. Spinal cord injuries can result in paralysis of one or more extremities. People with spinal cord injuries who become paraplegics, have limited or no function of the lower body. Sometimes spinal cord injuries result in quadriplegia, paralysis or some degree of both arms and both legs.

Visually Impaired - A condition resulting in a partial loss of vision. Use partially sighted, with partial vision, or visually impaired.

Lesson 4.2 Unacceptable Terms

The following terms are unacceptable and should be avoided when referring to people with disabilities because the terms have negative connotations and tend to evoke pity.

The terms to avoid are:

Cripple, cripples - the image conveyed is of a twisted, deformed, useless body.

Handicap, handicapped person or handicapped - Often used as a synonym for disability. However, usage has become less acceptable (one origin is from the phrase “cap in hand,” as in begging). Except when citing laws or regulations, handicap should not be used to describe a disability. The real “handicaps” are the attitudinal and architectural barriers erected by our society. Say, “The stairs are a handicap for her,” but not “The handicapped child could not use the stairs.”

Cerebral Palsied, Spinal Cord Injured, etc. - Never identify people solely by their disability.

Victim - People with disabilities do not like to be perceived as victims for the rest of their lives.

Defective, Defect, Deformed, Vegetable, Abnormal, Crazy, Disfigured, Fits, Maimed, Pathetic, Pitiful, Slow, Moron, Imbecile, Idiot.- These words are offensive, dehumanizing, degrading and stigmatizing.

Deaf and Dumb is as bad as it sounds, the inability to hear or speak does not indicate intelligence.

Confined/Restricted to a Wheelchair; Wheelchair Bound - Most people who use a wheelchair or mobility devices do not regard them as confining. They are viewed as liberating; a means of getting around.

Healthy, when used to contrast with “disabled.” Healthy implies that the person with a disability is unhealthy. Many people with disabilities have excellent health.

Normal - When used as the opposite of disabled, this implies that the person is abnormal. No one wants to be labeled as abnormal.

Afflicted With, Suffers From - Most people with disabilities do not regard themselves afflicted or suffering continually.

Affliction - a disability is not an affliction, although an affliction may have caused the disability.

Invalid - According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the term means “not valid”

Burden, Birth Defect, Deaf Mute , Differently Abled, Incapacitated, Insane, Stricken With, Tragedy, Unfortunate, Retarded, These terms are also offensive to people who bear the label.

Rules to remember in determining if terms or phrases are appropriate

• Avoid terms and phrases that infer how a person feels about the disability.
  
• Avoid terms or phrases that define someone by their disability rather than describe one’s condition or situation.
  
• Do not use terms that make judgments about the person’s disability or condition.
• Do not use outdated or derogatory terms in relation to a person’s disability.

Lesson 4.3 Access Symbols

1. Information Symbol:

The most valuable commodity of today's society is information; to a person with a disability it is essential. For example, the symbol may be used on signage or on a floor plan to indicate the location of the information or security desk, where there is more specific information or materials concerning access accommodations and services such as "LARGE PRINT" materials, audio cassette recordings of materials, or sign interpreted tours.

2. International Symbol of Accessibility:

The wheelchair symbol should only be used to indicate access for individuals with limited mobility, including wheelchair users. For example, the symbol is used to indicate an accessible entrance, bathroom or that a phone is lowered for wheelchair users. Remember that a ramped entrance is not completely accessible if there are no curb cuts, and an elevator is not accessible if it can only be reached via steps.

3. Live Audio Description:

A service for people who are blind or have low vision that makes the performing and visual arts more accessible. A trained Audio Describer offers live commentary or narration (via headphones and a small transmitter) consisting of concise, objective descriptions of visual elements: for example, a theater performance or a visual arts exhibition at a museum.

4. Audio Description for TV, Video and Film:

This service makes television, video, and film more accessible for persons who are blind or have low vision. Description of visual elements is provided by a trained Audio Describer through the Secondary Audio Program (SAP) of televisions and monitors equipped with stereo sound. An adapter for non-stereo TVs is available through the American Foundation for the Blind, (800)829-0500.

5. Accessible Print:

The symbol for large print is "Large Print" printed in 18 Point or larger text. In addition to indicating that large print versions of books, pamphlets, museum guides and theater programs are available, you may use the symbol on conference or membership forms to indicate that print materials may be provided in large print. Sans serif or modified serif print with good contrast is highly recommended, and special attention should be paid to letter and word spacing.

6. Access (Other Than Print or Braille) for Individuals Who are Blind or Have Low Vision:

This symbol may be used to indicate access for people who are blind or have low vision, including: a guided tour, a path to a nature trail or a scent garden in a park; and a tactile tour or a museum exhibition that may be touched.

7. Braille Symbol:

This symbol indicates that printed matter is available in Braille, including exhibition labeling, publications and signage.

8. Telephone Typewriter (TTY):

Also known as text telephone (TT), or telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), TTY indicates a telephone device used with the telephone (and the phone number) for communication between deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired and/or hearing persons.

9. Sign Language Interpretation:

The symbol indicates that Sign Language Interpretation is provided for a lecture, tour, performance, conference or other program.

10. Assistive Listening Systems:

These systems transmit sound via hearing aids or head sets. They include infrared, loop and FM systems. Portable systems may be available from the same audiovisual equipment suppliers that service conferences and meetings.

11. Volume Control Telephone:

This symbol indicates the location of telephones that have handsets with amplified sound and/or adjustable volume controls.

12. Closed Captioning (CC):

Thanks to our own Senator Tom Harkin, this symbol indicates that a television program or videotape is closed captioned for deaf or hard of hearing persons (and others). TV sets that have a built-in or a separate decoder are equipped to display dialogue for programs that are captioned. The Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 requires new TV sets (with screens 13" or larger) to have built-in decoders as of July, 1993. Also, videos that are part of exhibitions may be closed captioned using the symbol with instructions to press a button for captioning. The alternative would be open captioning, which translates dialogue and other sounds in print.

Lesson 4.4 People First Language

To achieve Inclusion, Community, and Freedom for people with disabilities, we must use PEOPLE FIRST LANGUAGE.

A commentary by Kathie Snow

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."
Mark Twain

Who are the so-called handicapped?

Society’s myths tell us they are:

• people who “suffer” from the “tragedy of birth defects”
  
• “paraplegic heroes” who “struggle” to become “normal” again
  
• “victims” who “fight” to “overcome” their conditions
  
• categorically: the so-called disabled, retarded, autistic, blind, deaf, learning disabled, and more

Who are they, really?

They are moms and dads and sons and daughters . . . employees and employers . . . scientists (Stephen Hawking) . . . friends and neighbors . . . movie stars (Marlee Matlin) . . . leaders and followers . . . students and teachers . . . they are people.
They are people, first.

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.
Old Chinese Proverb

• Are you myopic or do you wear glasses?
  
• Are you cancerous or do you have cancer?
  
• Are you freckled or do you have freckles?
  
• Are you handicapped/disabled or do you have a disability?
  
• People First Language describes what a person HAS, not what a person IS!
• People First Language puts the person before the disability!
  The Disability Rights Movement is following in the footsteps of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the Women’s Movement of the 1970s. While people with disabilities and advocates work to end discrimination and segregation in education, employment, and our communities at large, we must all work to eliminate the prejudicial language that creates an invisible barrier to inclusion in the mainstream of life.

“Disability is a natural part of the human experience...”
U.S. Developmental Disabilities Act & The Bill of Rights Act, 1993

Disability is not the “problem.”
We need to rid our vocabulary of the word “problem” when talking about people’s needs! A person with glasses doesn’t say, “I have a problem seeing.” She says, “I wear (or need) glasses.” Recognize that what we call a “problem” is actually a need.

The real problems are attitudinal and environmental barriers.
If educators—and our society at large—perceived children with disabilities as individuals who have the potential to learn, who have the need for the same education as their brothers and sisters, and who have a future in the adult world of work, we wouldn’t have to fight for inclusive education.

If employers—and our society at large—believed adults with disabilities have valuable job skills and can contribute to the success of a business, we wouldn’t have to fight for real jobs for real pay in the real community.

If business owners—and our society at large—viewed people with disabilities as consumers with money to spend, we wouldn’t have to fight for accessible entrances and other accommodations.

In our society, “handicapped” and “disabled” are all-encompassing terms that are misused.

• People with hearing or vision impairments don’t need “handicapped” parking or restrooms. Many people with physical disabilities do need accessible parking and restrooms.
  
• If a “handicapped” entrance has a ramp for people who use wheelchairs, does the doorway have Braille signage for people with visual impairments?
  
• Accommodations that enable people with disabilities to access a facility—regardless of their disabilities—are accessible!
  
• “Disabled” is not accurate, either. Our society “corrupts” language. When a traffic reporter describes a traffic jam, we often hear, “There’s a disabled vehicle on the highway.” “Disabled,” in that context, means “broken down.” People with disabilities are not broken!
  
• If a new toaster doesn’t work, we say, “It’s defective!” and we return it and get a new one! Do we return babies who have birth “defects”? The respectful term is “congenital disability.”

People will live up (or down) to our expectations. If we expect people with disabilities to succeed, we cannot let labels stand in their way. We must not let labels destroy the hopes and dreams of people with disabilities and their families.

Disability can be defined as a body function
that operates differently.

Contrast that meaning with: the origin of “handicap,” from the dictionary, which refers to “hand in cap,” a game where the losing player was considered to be at a disadvantage; and a legendary origin of the word which refers to a person with a disability having to beg on the street with “cap in hand.”

“Handicapped,” “Disabled,” or People with Disabilities:
which description is most accurate?

Using “handicapped,” and even “disabled,” typically evokes negative feelings (sadness, pity, fear, and more) and creates a stereotypical perception that people with disabilities are all alike. All people who have brown hair are not alike. All people who have disabilities are not alike. In fact, people with disabilities are more like people without disabilities than different!

The disability community is the largest minority group in our nation, and it’s all inclusive! It includes people of both genders and of all ages, as well as individuals from all religions, ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic levels. About the only things people with disabilities have in common with one another are 1) having a body part that is different and 2) facing prejudice and discrimination. Unique to the disability community is that it’s the only minority group that anyone can join in the split second of an accident.

If and when it happens to you,
will you have more in common with others with disabilities
or with your family, friends, and coworkers?

Many people who do not now have a disability will have one in the future. Others will have a family member or friend who acquires a disability. If you acquire a disability in your lifetime, how will you want to be described? How will you want to be treated? Disability issues are issues that affect everyone!

Using People First Language is a crucial issue.

If people with disabilities are to be included in all aspects of our communities—in the ordinary, wonderful, and typical activities most people take for granted—they must talk about themselves in the ordinary, wonderful, typical language others use about themselves.

Children with disabilities are children, first. The only labels they need are their names! Parents must not talk about their children in the clinical terms used by medical practitioners. A parent of a child who wears glasses (medical diagnosis: myopia) doesn’t say, “My daughter is myopic,” so why does the parent of a child who has a medical diagnosis of autism say, “My daughter is autistic.”?

Adults with disabilities are adults, first. The only labels they need are their names! They must not talk about themselves the way service providers talk about them. An adult with a medical diagnosis of cancer doesn’t say, “I’m cancerous,” so why does an adult with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy say, “I’m disabled.”?

What’s the only purpose of a disability label?
To get services!

A disability label is simply a medical diagnosis and a
sociopolitical passport for entry into the service system.
Disability labels cannot be used to define human beings!

My son, Benjamin, is 14 years old. He loves Star Wars, pretzels, and playing on the computer; he collects Pez candy dispensers. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and cerebral palsy. His disability is only one characteristic of his whole persona. He is not his diagnosis, and his potential cannot be defined by his disability label. In fact, among friends and family, and in typical settings, a person’s disability should be irrelevant! Disability labels should only be used within the service system; they have no place in the real world!

When I introduce myself to people, I don’t tell them I’ll never be a prima ballerina. Like others, I focus on my strengths, not on what I can’t do. Don’t you do the same? I don’t say, “My son can’t write with a pencil.” I say, “My son uses a computer to write.” I don’t say, “My son can’t walk.” I say, “My son uses a wheelchair.” How can you change the language you use about yourself or others with disabilities?

A person’s self-image is strongly tied to the words used to describe the person. For generations, people with disabilities have been described in negative, stereotypical language that has created mythical portrayals about them. Over time, these myths have taken on the power of truths, when they’re actually lies. We must all believe people with disabilities are real people with unlimited potential, just like all people. We must stop believing the myths—the lies—of labels.

We have the power to create new truths about people with disabilities. Using People First Language can influence society’s views and treatment of people with disabilities.

Isn’t it time for us to make this change?
If not now, when? If not you, who?

Benjamin goes ballistic when he hears “handicapped.” I hope when he’s grown, labels will be extinct. People First Language is right. Just do it—NOW!

Click here for examples of People First Language

Unit 4 Quiz (5 Items)

1. Match the following disability terms to their associated

descriptions.

A. ___Amputation (1) A condition whereas an individual is

affected with paralysis of both arms

and both legs.

B. ___Cerebral Palsy (2) A condition resulting in a partial

loss of vision.

C. ___Dwarfism (3) A condition lacking all or parts of

one or more limbs.

D. ___Quadriplegia (4) A condition whereas an individual is

affected with paralysis to the lower

half of the body with involvement of

both legs.

E. ___Paraplegia (5) A condition of arrested growth;

characterized by exceptionally short

body length, specifically with

unusually short arms or legs.

F. ___Visually Impaired (6) A condition resulting from damage to

the brain before, during or after

birth. The person lacks muscle

control and movement can be

exaggerated and/or uncontrollable.

2. Which one (1) of the following terms is unacceptable because the

disability does NOT indicate intelligence?

A. Invalid

B. Handicapped

C. Suffers from

D. Deaf and Dumb

3. Which one (1) of the following is NOT a rule to determine if

terms are appropriate?

A. Do not use outdated or derogatory terms in relation to a

person’s disability.

B. When necessary, include terms and phrases that infer how a

person feels about the disability.

C. Make sure NOT to use terms that make judgments about the

person’s disability or condition.

D. Avoid terms or phrases that define someone by their

disability rather than describe one’s condition or situation.

4. Which one (1) of the following statements BEST describes

People First Language?

A. It puts the person before the disability.

B. Paraplegics are heroes who struggle to become normal again.

C. Reminds us that people suffer from the tragedy of

birth defects.

D. Individuals with disabilities are victims who fight to overcome

their conditions.

5. Which one (1) of the following symbols represents a service that

makes television, video, and film more accessible for persons who

are blind or have low vision. Description of visual elements is

provided by trained individuals through the Secondary Audio

Program (SAP) of televisions and monitors equipped with stereo

sound.

A.




B.




C.




D.