Disability Etiquette
Terminology is important, because words reflect our attitudes and beliefs. However, some of the terms we tend to use may not reflect how some disabled people see themselves. Using the right words matters. This is not about ‘political correctness’ but using wording and language which disabled people and disabled people’s organisations, who work to promote the social model of disability, find acceptable.
Disabled people are quite naturally sensitive to the negative connotations of some expressions. Language conveys powerful messages and can lead to inaccurate labelling that dehumanises or belittles. It is helpful to observe care in one's choice of words and to encourage all students to be sensitive to their use of language too.
Common Courtesies
- Avoid attaching labels to people with or without impairments. Do not make assumptions about the presence or absence of impairment; some people have hidden disabilities such as epilepsy or asthma. Medical labels are undesirable and misleading as no two people are alike. Medical labels say nothing about the individual and tend to reinforce stereotypes of disabled people as patients, powerless and wholly dependent on the medical profession.
- It is dehumanising to talk of people in terms of a condition. Do not talk about a dyslexic or an epileptic - it is far preferable to say he has dyslexia/ she has epilepsy.
- Do not use the word disabled as a noun (the disabled), it implies a homogenous group separate from the rest of society. Everyone is an individual; people with disabilities do not constitute a group apart.
- Treat adults in a manner befitting adults, do not patronise or talk down.
- Do offer assistance to a disabled person, but wait until your offer has been accepted before you help. Do not assume that you know the best way of helping, listen to any instructions.
- Do not be embarrassed about using common expressions such as I see what you mean or another pair of hands which may relate to a person's impairment.
- Make eye contact and talk directly to the disabled person rather than through a companion or an interpreter.
- Make appropriate physical contact with disabled people according to the situation in the same way you would with anyone else.
- Never attempt to speak or finish a sentence for the person you are talking to.
The list below is dynamic and changes in response to the suggestions and beliefs of disabled individuals.
| Avoid | Use instead |
|---|---|
|
‘The disabled’ – use of this collective noun implies that all disabled people have the same needs and issues, and reinforces their perceived separateness from the rest of society |
‘Disabled people’ |
|
‘The deaf’ |
‘Deaf people/hard of hearing people’ (depending on which group) or ‘hearing impaired’ |
|
‘Deaf and dumb’ or ‘deaf mute’ |
‘A person who is deaf without speech’ or ‘deaf sign language (or British Sign Language) user’. BSL is a recognised language and for many Deaf people it will be their first language. |
|
‘The blind’ |
‘Blind people’ or ‘partially sighted people’ or ‘visually impaired people’ |
|
‘able-bodied, healthy, normal’ |
‘Non-disabled’ |
|
’People with disabilities’ – The ‘Social Model’ of disability regards people as having an impairment, but being ‘disabled’ by society’s attitudes and actions |
‘Disabled people’ or ‘people with impairments’ |
|
‘Handicapped, cripple, invalid’ |
‘Disabled’ or ‘disabled people/person, or if appropriate, a ‘person with a mobility impairment’ |
|
‘Victim of ‘ or ‘suffering from’ |
‘has (an impairment)’, ‘a person with’ and avoid using medical labels which define people by their disability |
|
‘Wheelchair-bound’ or ‘confined to a wheelchair’ |
‘Wheelchair user’ or ‘a person who uses a wheelchair’ |
|
‘An epileptic’ |
‘A person with epilepsy’ |
|
‘A spastic’ |
‘A person with cerebral palsy’ |
|
‘Mental, mental patient, schizophrenic, lunatic, psycho, etc’ |
‘A person with a mental health problem or difficulty’ |
|
‘Retarded’ |
‘A person with learning disabilities/learning difficulties’ |
|
‘Dwarf’ or ‘midget’ |
‘Restricted growth’ or ‘short stature’ |
|
‘Fits, spells, attacks’ |
‘Seizures’ |
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