People with disabilities are just that—people. Everyone has multiple facets to their personalities and different aspects to their lives. Using language that puts the person first is not a matter of political correctness—it acknowledges that people with disabilities are human beings and should not be defined or limited by other’s perceptions of their bodies and minds.
Say | Instead of |
People with disabilities | The disabled, the handicapped |
The disability community | Special-needs population |
Child with a disability | Disabled or handicapped child |
Has… | Is afflicted with…suffer from… is a victim of…. |
Person with cerebral palsy | Palsied or spastic |
Without speech, nonverbal | Mute or dumb |
Has a developmental delay | Is slow |
Has emotional disorder or mental illness | Is crazy, nuts, insane, postal |
Can’t hear and has no speech | Deaf and dumb |
Uses a wheelchair | Is confined to a wheelchair; is wheelchair-bound |
Person with mental retardation | Retarded |
Person with epilepsy | Epileptic |
Person with Down Syndrome | Mongoloid |
Has a learning disability | Is learning disabled |
Not disabled | Normal, healthy, able-bodied |
Has a physical disability or mobility impairment | Is crippled, lame |
Has a chronic illness | Is sickly |
Has quadriplegia (paralysis of both arms and legs) | Is quadriplegic |
Has paraplegia (loss of function in lower body only) | Is paraplegic |
This material was adapted from: Succeeding Together: People With Disabilities in the Workplace by Terri Goldstein, M.S., CRC, Michael Winkler, M.S., and Margaret Chun, M.S., and presented at The Oakland County Employment and Diversity Council’s Workplace Diversity luncheon: From Barriers To Bridges-Honoring Our common Differences, Friday, November 14, 2003, Northfield Hilton, Troy, Michigan.