| Acceptable
Terms |
Unacceptable
Terms |
| Person with
a disability. |
Cripple,
cripples - the image conveyed is of a twisted, deformed, useless
body. |
| Disability,
a general term used for functional limitation that interferes with a
person's ability, for example, to walk, hear or lift. It may refer
to a physical, mental or sensory condition. |
Handicap,
handicapped person or handicapped. |
| People with
cerebral palsy, people with spinal cord injuries. |
Cerebral
palsied, spinal cord injured, etc. Never identify people solely by
their disability. |
| Person who
had a spinal cord injury, polio, a stroke, etc. or a person who has
multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, etc. |
Victim.
People with disabilities do not like to be perceived as victims for
the rest of their lives, long after any victimization has occurred. |
| Has a
disability, has a condition of (spina bifida, etc.), or born without
legs, etc. |
Defective,
defect, deformed, vegetable. These words are offensive,
dehumanizing, degrading and stigmatizing. |
| Deafness/hearing
impairment. Deafness refers to a person
who has a total loss of hearing. Hearing
impairment refers to a person who has a partial loss of
hearing within a range from slight to severe.
Hard of hearing describes a
hearing-impaired person who communicates through speaking and
speech-reading, and who usually has listening and hearing abilities
adequate for ordinary telephone communication. Many hard of hearing
individuals use a hearing aid. |
Deaf and
Dumb is as bad as it sounds. The inability to hear or speak does not
indicate intelligence. |
| Person who
has a mental or developmental disability. |
Retarded,
moron, imbecile, idiot. These are offensive to people who bear the
label. |
| Use a
wheelchair or crutches; a wheelchair user; walks with crutches. |
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. |
| Able-bodied;
able to walk, see, hear, etc.; people who are not disabled. |
Healthy,
when used to contrast with "disabled." Healthy implies
that the person with a disability is unhealthy. Many people with
disabilities have excellent health. |
| People who
do not have a disability. |
Normal. When
used as the opposite of disabled, this implies that the person is
abnormal. No one wants to be labeled as abnormal. |
| A person who
has (name of disability.) Example: A
person who has multiple sclerosis. |
Afflicted
with, suffers from. Most people with disabilities do not regard
themselves as afflicted or suffering continually.
Afflicted: a disability is not an affliction. |