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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. He does not suffer from dyslexia. He is not a victim of dyslexia. It is really none of our business what his impairment is.

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. Outside school, he has specific requirements. This includes, for example, receiving communications written in a large, clear font. We hope that one day he will have Specific Educational Requirements rather than '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.

a space for disabled young people

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