Using
the right words
If your
local news people are incorrectly describing people with disabilities
it takes just a few minutes to send off a message like the one
that I sent to our local newspaper. Reporters need to be educated
as to how to correctly describe people with disabilities…it
is their job. They should get it right. You can copy or use
my letter as an outline if you want to contact your local news
people.
-----------------------------
January
19, 2002
From:
Michael Creurer - Box 5664, Victoria, B.C. Tel: ---
----
To:
Letters to the Editor - Times Colonist,
Box 300, Victoria, B.C.,V8W 2N4
Is
using the right word important?
We communicate
to describe people, situations and the events of their lives.
The words that we choose to describe others can be empowering
or denigrating. This article will address the use of correct
language when discussing people with disabilities. Words used
to describe people in this very broad group must be chosen to
reflect their current physical or psychological situation. There
are many words that are no longer politically correct or acceptable
to people with disabilities. But they still get used because
of lack of awareness. The correct use of words is very important
when describing a person with a disability.
One such
word is "handicapped". The term is ambiguous and very
out of date. Although its use is pervasive, it is not acceptable.
And, many people with disabilities that I have spoken with find
the word offensive and derogatory. It seems that the use of
this word is always taken to be synonymous with disability.
But, if you read the following excerpt (used with permission
from City of Sacramento ADA Information Home Page) you will
notice that there is a very discernable difference in the meaning
of the two words.
Distinction
between Disability & Handicap:
A Disability
is a condition caused by an accident, trauma, genetics or disease,
which may limit a person's mobility, hearing, vision, speech
or mental function. Some people with disabilities have one or
more disabilities.
A Handicap
is a physical or attitudinal constraint that is imposed upon
a person, regardless of whether that person has a disability.
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines handicap as
to put at a disadvantage. Writers note: poor access or no access
into buildings for me using my scooter, is a handicap that puts
me at a disadvantage. My disability itself is not a handicap.
A few other
words no longer acceptable to describe a person with a disability
include: crippled, invalid, confined to a wheelchair, victim,
deaf mute, suffers from… or afflicted by. All of these
words are demeaning and much too vague. They cannot properly
describe a person’s situation. Someone using a wheelchair
is not confined by it but able to experience independence and
mobility with the use of it. Are there other words that are
offensive to you?
Hopefully
this article will encourage you to not only examine your own
use of words, but to encourage your family and friends to be
equally aware. Members of the media, both television and print
need to be reminded if they slip up and use inappropriate language
in their reports. If you hear someone use the word handicapped,
please point out that it is no longer appropriate. And, a person’s
disability should be clarified: she is a person with multiple
sclerosis, he is a person who had polio or he has a mental disability.
Describing people in this manner identifies them as people first
and their disability as secondary. The correct use of language
portrays people with disabilities with the same respect that
all Canadian citizens expect and deserve. Using the right words
when describing people with disabilities will achieve just that.
Michael
Creurer
Member of
the physically disabled community
Back
|
