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TAFE disabilities - Hunter
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WHAT'S HOT & WHAT'S NOT
Remember – the person always comes first. |
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WHAT’S HOT & WHAT’S NOT
People with a disability lead everyday lives. They go to school, go to work, get married, have children and excel in society like everyone else.
Here are some A-Z tips and common courtesies to think about next time you are talking to, writing about or socialising with, a person with a disability.
Remember – the person always comes first.
A-Z TIPS
Ability When communicating with or about people with a disability remember they may have only one disability – but they have many abilities.
A paraplegic, a haemophiliac The use of ‘A’ before the noun categorises the person based on their disability. Use person with haemophilia, man who has paraplegia.
Abnormal or sub-normal Not acceptable. Use person or person with a disability.
Afflicted with or suffering from Most people with a disability do not see themselves as afflicted or suffering.
Assistance Always ask a person with a disability if they need help before rushing in.
Blind use only to describe a person who really is blind. In other cases use person with vision impairment.
Confined to a wheelchair A wheelchair is not confining; it provides mobility to those who can’t walk.
Cripple Only to be used as part of a direct quote or an organisation’s name.
Deaf Only use if a person really is Deaf. In other cases use person with a hearing impairment.
Defect Not acceptable. Use congenital disability, blind from birth.
Disabled use people or person with a disability, not disabled person. The person always comes first.
Disabled toilet or disabled parking space The toilet or car park is not disabled! Use accessible toilet or accessible parking space.
Fits The preferred term is seizures.
Guide dogs Never pat or touch a guide dog while the dog is working or when the dog is in its harness. Always ask permission and remember that sometimes the owner may say no.
Handicap This word should only be used to describe the obstacles that restrict an individual’s participation, e.g. a person is handicapped by the lack of accessible transport.
Intellectual disability Terms such as mongol, retard or mentally retarded are outdated. Use people with an intellectual disability.
Mental illness Do not use insane, lunatic, mad or crazy. Use mental illness or the appropriate clinical name. e.g. person with schizophrenia.
Mongolism use person with Down syndrome.
Normal This is a statistical term. Use person without a disability or terms such as sighted or hearing.
Patient Should only be used when a person is actually receiving medical care. Use the same adjective as you would for a person without a disability.
Patronising language Don’t describe people as brave, special or suffering. Disability is part of everyday life.
People with disabilities Can imply that people have more than one disability. Use people with a disability.
Psychiatric disability Can be used to describe a mental illness. Don’t use insane, lunatic, mad or crazy.
Retarded Derogatory, outdated and unacceptable – instead use people with an intellectual disability.
Spastic Derogatory, outdated and unacceptable, unless used as part of an organisation’s name. In most cases a person with cerebral palsy is the acceptable alternative.
Sufferer People don’t suffer just because they have a disability.
The blind, the deaf Avoid using ‘the’ in this manner as it unconsciously eliminates the person and creates a generalisation based purely on disability.
Vegetables Are what you cook and eat – not people who are unconscious or in a coma.
Victim People are victims of war, crime or exploitative wages. People with a disability prefer not to be referred to as victims.
Visual impairment Implies a person is unattractive to look at! Use vision impairment or sight impairment.
Wheelchair user When talking to a person who uses a wheelchair place yourself at eye level. Do not push anyone who uses a wheelchair unless you are asked to.
The NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, and TAFE NSW, would like to thank Link Disability Magazine (www.linkonline.com.au) for developing and allowing us to use this list.
Link is Australia’s leading national cross-disability magazine.
Featuring opinions and perspectives directly from people with a disability, Link covers a diverse range of topics including news, issues, art, sport, breakthroughs, travel, health, advocacy, products and people in the disability sector.
Link started out in 1980 as a small state-based newspaper and has since evolved into a national, professionally designed, glossy, colour magazine.
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