Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!385!14.0!Ann.Stalnaker From: Ann.Stalnaker@p0.f14.n385.z1.fidonet.org (Ann Stalnaker) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: An Article of Interest... Message-ID: <18711@bunker.isc-br.com> Date: 15 Apr 91 04:18:58 GMT Sender: wtm@bunker.isc-br.com Reply-To: Ann.Stalnaker@p0.f14.n385.z1.fidonet.org Organization: FidoNet node 1:385/14.0 - Fingers Talk, Lawton OK Lines: 84 Approved: wtm@bunker.hcap.fidonet.org Index Number: 14866 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] I thought this article might be of interest to all - it was published in the Disability Reporter which is published every other month by Oklahoma Office of Handicapped Concerns, 4300 W. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . CALL ME BY MY NAME . . . Portraying People with Disabilities Language has the power to shape our perceptions and attitudes about people. Attitudes, in turn, affect our behaviors toward people. Call a man a patriot or a zealot, and the reader or listener usually has an automatic response that is admiring in the first instance, and suspicious in the latter. But describe that same individual as a man with convictions, and we must look deeper before framing the attitude about him that will guide our behavior towards him. People with disabilities have historically been described through use of labels and phrases which actually depict society's fear of disability. Many of the catch-words typically used to reference a person with a disability are comforting to use, because they emphasize how distant the state of disability is from the experience of the person who has no disability. For instance, referring to someone as an "invalid" will certainly trigger pity and the image of helplessness, but seldom elicit a sense of relationship, understanding or value of the individual. Over the years the words and styles used to portray individuals with disabilities have affected the ways in which the public thinks about these individuals. Words like "cripple", "victim", and "invalid" stress the most negative and distressing aspects of disability. A society which regards people with disabilities as objects of pity, as essentially different from non-disabled persons, has produced public policy which segregates, neglects and underestimates the potential of a significant human resources - 43 million Americans with disabilities. Fair and accurate reporting about individuals with disabilities can eradicate many of the fears and misconceptions which have tended to keep this population poor, underemployed and segregated. Following are some tips on avoiding use of language which stereotypes or offends individuals with disabilities, and some information on terminology that is considered acceptable. - PEOPLE FIRST. Individuals with disabilities are people first. Avoid referring to them by label. Draw attention first to the humanity of the individual, not to his/her disability. - Avoid use of terms and phrases which de-emphasize a person's individuality while stressing the negative aspects of disability. For example, don't say "wheelchair-bound", "confined to a wheelchair", "deaf and dumb", "cripple", or "victim of". INSTEAD, SAY "person with a disability", "man who uses a wheelchair", "woman who has epilepsy", or "person who is deaf". - When the issue of disability is not critical to a story or account, avoid mentioning it at all. - Avoid portrayal of successful people with disabilities as superhuman. Many disability groups also strongly object to employing euphemisms to describe disabilities. Even though some euphemistic terms (for example, "physically challenged", "handicappable", and "people of differing abilities") are in popular use today, many disability advocates agree such terms are condescending and reinforce the idea that dis- abilities cannot be dealt with directly. Again, the simple phrase: "individual with a disability" is more straightforward and less prejudicial. The humanity and diversity of individuals with disabilities can be shown by maintaining a focus on real lives. As do others, people with dis- abilities work, interact socially and exercise a broad range of talents and skills as they participate in the spectrum of life activities. Putting disabled people "in the landscape" helps to break down barriers and open lines of communication. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!385!14.0!Ann.Stalnaker Internet: Ann.Stalnaker@p0.f14.n385.z1.fidonet.org