words1
A reference guide to our view of helpful terms and phrases.
Always remember that disability is a function of society - it is not a condition of a person. Therefore people cannot 'have disabilities'. They are disabled by society.
There is nothing difficult about the words that Disabled People find most acceptable. They are words which identify disability as a function of society. They are words which do not reduce individuals to conditions. They are words which allow for difference between individuals rather than labels for a homogenous group. They are words which evoke dignity rather than pity or hardship.
We work with Disabled people. | We do not work with the Disabled. Nor do we work with cripples, handicapped people, spastics or any other negative terms. | ||
Layla is Disabled. | She has an impairment. She does not have a disability. Or a condition. | ||
Ruth is non-Disabled. | She is not able-bodied, as if disability were always physical. | ||
John has dyslexia. | He is not dyslexic. | ||
John also uses a wheelchair. | He is not confined to a wheelchair. He is not wheelchair-bound. | ||
At school John has Specific Educational Needs (SEN). | He does not have special needs. | ||
John sometimes requires a Personal Assistant (PA). | He does not have a personal carer. He does not need one-to-one support. | ||
Rio has learning difficulties. | He does not have mental problems, special needs or learning problems. He is certainly not thick. | ||
We include blind people. | We do not include the blind, as if all blind people were the same. | ||
Sometimes we might use common phrases such as 'see you soon' which seem to exclude people with certain impairments. | This is common and we need not be anxious about it. However, we never use phrases which refer to impairments in a derogatory or degrading manner, such as 'blind as a bat', 'deaf as a post', etc. | ||
What is a disabled toilet? | We'd rather use accessible toilets, transport, parking, etc. | ||
Do not use language which suggests that Disabled people are frail or dependent or which suggests that a Disabled person should be the object of pity. | |||

