![]() So, here is the big takeaway: As with race, gender, and other categories of personhood, it is usually best to refer to a person by the terms they use to refer to themselves. (Though I, as someone with a disability and an accessible parking permit, tend to refer to reserved parking spaces as “accessible parking.”)Īdditionally, not everyone appreciates the term “disability.” For example, many people who identify with deaf culture especially may take offense at the phrase, as being deaf is often a core aspect of their social culture. ![]() It is typically acceptable to use “handicap” in common phrases, such as “handicapped parking.” Just try to avoid calling a person “handicapped.” Calling a person “handicapped” is inherently negative. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an impairment is “any temporary or permanent loss or abnormality of a body structure or function, whether physiological or psychological,” a disability is “a restriction or inability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being, mostly resulting from an impairment,” and a handicap is “the result of an impairment or disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of one or several roles regarded as normal, depending on age, sex, and social and cultural factors.”Īlternatively, a handicap may be the device or technology that corrects the circumstance, such as in golf or other sports. On that note, let me clarify the differences between a “handicap” and a “disability,” as that might be the term in the list that surprised you. They come across as offensive, ignorant, or just plain condescending. ![]() Never use terms like “crippled,” “handicapped,” “dumb,” “retarded,” “differently-abled,” or “handicapable.” These phrases are no longer considered appropriate to use, whether in writing or speech. “She is afflicted with mental illness.”.People with disabilities are not “suffering from” or “a victim of” their disability the disability is just one part of who they are. A person is more than their disability and should be treated as such.Įven though people may have a single disability (“He is blind.”), no single person is totally without ability (“He is disabled.”). When discussing a person with a disability, don’t lead with the disability. Using inclusive language when talking about disabilities is a sign of respect for those of us who have them. Many of us consider respect for our fellow humans to be a core value. However, not everyone is an expert in talking to or about people with disabilities. Interacting with and writing about people who have disabilities is part of our jobs as accessibility advocates, testers and testing moderators, and members of society.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |