According to the medical model, disability requires medical care provided by professionals. Disability, however, is not just a health problem. It’s rather a complex phenomenon which reflects the interaction between the elements of a person’s human body and the structures of the society in which this person lives. According to the social model, disability is defined by the social framework. In this sense, disability is the loss or limitation regarding an activity caused by a modern social environment (or the modern organization of the society) which ignores people with body disabilities and learning difficulties, thus excluding them from ordinary social activities.
When approaching disability within the framework of a society, we should begin with the way in which we refer to and communicate with people with disability. Language changes at a rapid pace along with our society and its norms. Since language reflects social norms and concepts, its use and the words we use should depict them. Showing respect for human rights, we must not use wrong or insulting terms which disrespect other human beings and their diversity, whichever this may be.
Whether we shall use the attribute “person with disability” or “disabled person” depends on the personal preference of the individual or the sum of individuals to which we are referring, since there is no unanimity on which style is more respectful.
The term “special” is utilized technically (e.g. in “special education”), but any further use of it, as in “special needs”, should be avoided. In this case it is used as a euphemism, in order to avoid the terms “disability” or “functionality”, as if the speaker tries to shy away from them.
We must not use offensive language or use disability-related terms pejoratively, such as “crazy”, “retard”, “incompetent”, “stupid”, “lame”, “blind”, “invalid”, in order to refer to others who –in our opinion– do something frustrating or irritating, not even as a joke. Furthermore, we must not use condescending terms, such as “people with special abilities”, or encomiastic hyperboles, such as “heroes of life”. All these undermine the effort to treat people with disability as equal members of our society.
When we want to describe people without disabilities as opposed to people with disabilities, terms like “normal”, “healthy” and “able-bodied” are not to be used. We can use the following instead: “non disabled people” or “people without disability” or “people without visible disabilities”.
The term “patient” may be used in a medical setting, but not all disabilities are illnesses. The phrase “(s)he suffers from condition x” must also be avoided, since it has a negative connotation. One should use instead: “(s)he has condition x”.
Adjectives derived from nouns, which denote disabilities, health conditions etc., (e.g. dyslexic), should be replaced by the phrase “person with …” (e.g. person with dyslexia). The reason why these adjectives should be avoided is that they describe an individual based on her/his condition alone.
The definition of blindness does not include only individuals who have complete lack of light perception, but also individuals who can perceive light and the presence of large objects such as trees or cars. The terms we use regarding visual disability are a) “blind”, if a person has total loss of vision, b) “legally blind”, if a person’s visual acuity is less than 1/20 of the normal visual acuity, even with the use of correcting lenses; this means that a legally blind person cannot perceive an object, even if it is placed one meter away, whereas a person with normal visual acuity could see the same object at a distance of 20 meters, c) “partially sighted” or “with low vision”, if a person’s visual acuity is between 1/10 and 1/20 of the normal visual acuity, even with the use of corrective lenses.
A person with total hearing loss is called “deaf”, whereas a person with partial hearing loss is called “hard of hearing” or “partially deaf”. Deaf children usually develop speech with some delay. If they have the chance, they can learn to communicate in writing, orally or by using Sign Language. The term “deaf-mute” is used in medical context to describe a deaf person who cannot produce speech. One should avoid using this term in every-day conversations, since deaf people can produce speech in some way (e.g. Sign Language), even if they are not understood by people without hearing loss.
People who cannot use their lower limbs in order to move around are called “wheelchair users”. Expressions like “confined to a wheelchair” or “wheelchair bound” should be avoided; the expression “to be bound” carries a negative connotation. A wheelchair, on the other hand, enables a person to move around and thus gain freedom and independence. Therefore, its use is inappropriate.
You can find more in:
- Labib Rahman, “Disability Language Guide”, Reviewed by the Stanford Disability Initiative Board
- Bernard Quinn, “Language and Disability: a Dare-Learning Internal Project Guide”, 2012
- “Appropriate Terms to Use”, Irish National Disability Authority
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Disability | is an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. It denotes the negative aspects of the interaction between an individual (with a health condition) and that individual’s contextual factors (environmental and personal factors) |
| Health condition | is an umbrella term for disease (acute or chronic), disorder, injury or trauma. A health condition may also include other circumstances such as pregnancy, ageing, stress, congenital anomaly, or genetic predisposition. |
| Functioning | is an umbrella term for body functions, body structures, activities and participation. It denotes the positive aspects of the interaction between an individual (with a health condition) and that individual’s contextual factors (environmental and personal factors). |
| Body functions | are the physiological functions of body systems, including psychological functions. “Body” refers to the human organism as a whole, and thus includes the brain. Hence, mental (or psychological) functions are subsumed under body functions. |
| Body structures | are the structural or anatomical parts of the body such as organs, limbs and their components classified according to body systems. |
| Impairment | is a loss or abnormality in body structure or physiological function (including mental functions). Abnormality here is used strictly to refer to a significant variation from established statistical norms (i.e. as a deviation from a population mean within measured standard norms) and should be used only in this sense. |
| Activity | is the execution of a task or action by an individual. |
| Participation | is a person’s involvement in a life situation. |
| Activity limitations | are difficulties an individual may have in executing activities. |
| Participation restrictions | are problems an individual may experience in involvement in life situations. |
| Barriers | are factors in a person’s environment that, through their absence or presence, limit functioning and create disability. These include aspects such as a physical environment that is inaccessible, lack of relevant assistive technology, and negative attitudes of people towards disability, as well as services, systems and policies that are either nonexistent or that hinder the involvement of all people with a health condition in all areas of life. |
| Facilitators | are factors in a person’s environment that, through their absence or presence, improve functioning and reduce disability. These include aspects such as a physical environment that is accessible, the availability of relevant assistive technology, and positive attitudes of people towards disability, as well as services, systems and policies that aim to increase the involvement of all people with a health condition in all areas of life. Absence of a factor can also be facilitating, for example the absence of stigma or negative attitudes. Facilitators can prevent an impairment or activity limitation from becoming a participation restriction, since the actual performance of an action is enhanced, despite the person’s problem with capacity |
| Contextual factors | are the factors that together constitute the complete context of an individual’s life. |
| Environmental factors | include the physical world and its features, the human-made physical world, other people in different relationships and roles, attitudes and values, social systems and services, and policies, rules and laws. |
| Personal factors | are contextual factors that relate to the individual such as age, gender, social status, life experiences and so on, which are not currently classified in ICF but which users may incorporate in their applications of the classification. |
| Assistive technology | any product, instrument, equipment or technology adapted or specially designed for improving the functioning of a person with a disability. |