Like gender and ethnicity, disability is a natural part of life. One in five Americans is a person with a disability. One of the five apples in the bowl is green. The green apple is more like the red apples than different, and a person with a disability is more like people without disabilities than different.
Words matter! For too long, hurtful words have been used about people who have disabilities. We can change how we think and talk and use People First Language:
Replace Handicapped/disabled with Person with disabilities
Replace Mental retardation with Cognitive disability
Replace "Mike is autstic" with "Mike has autism"
Replace "Joann is wheelchair-bound" with "Joann uses a wheelchair"
Replace "Steve is crippled" with "Steve has a physical disability"
Replace "Maria is mentally ill" with "Maria has a mental health condition"
Replace "Tyrone is non-verbal" with "Tyrone communicates with..."
Replace Handicapped Parking with Accessible Parking
Replace Brain Damaged with Brain injury
Replace Normal or healthy people with People without disabilities
Do not use the R-word (retard) or terms like idiot, imbecile, moron, psycho, lame, sped kid, special needs, or other disability labels as insults.
Visit www.disabilityisnatural.com for more People First Language articles.
