DisABILITY Etiquette/People First Language

Person with a Disability

Disability, a general term used for functional limitation that interferes with a person's ability, for example, to walk, hear or lift. It may refer to a physical, mental or sensory condition.
 

Person who had a spinal cord injury, polio, a stroke, etc. or a person who has multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, etc.

Has a disability, has a condition of (spina bifida, etc.), or born without legs, etc

Deaf/hearing impairment. Deaf refers to a person who has a total loss of hearing. Hearing impairment refers to a person who has a partial loss of hearing.
 

Person who has a mental or developmental disability.

Use a wheelchair or crutches; a wheelchair user; walks with crutches.

Person who is able to walk, see, hear, etc.; people who are not disabled. People who do not have a disability.

Cripple, cripples - the image conveyed is of a twisted, deformed, useless body.

Handicap, handicapped person or handicapped. This term originated from the street person - cap or hat  in hand – begging for money…  not a pleasant picture.
 

Victim. People with disabilities do not like to be perceived as victims for the rest of their lives

Deformed, vegetable. These words are offensive, dehumanizing, degrading and stigmatizing.
 

Deaf and Dumb is as bad as it sounds. The inability to hear or speak does not indicate intelligence.
 

Retarded, moron, imbecile, idiot. These are offensive to people who bear the label.

Confined/restricted to a wheelchair; wheelchair bound. Most people who use a wheelchair or mobility devices do not regard them as confining. They are viewed as a liberating means of transportation.
 

Healthy, when used to contrast with "disabled." Healthy implies that the person with a disability is unhealthy. Many people with disabilities have excellent health.

Normal. When used as the opposite of disabled, this implies that the person is abnormal. No one wants to be labeled as abnormal.