Labels. Every person has a label, whether it be in their work, at school or at home.
Just because people naturally have labels does not mean that they want to be associated with them, nor does it mean that they feel we should use labels.
“One of the strong issues within the disability community is the opposition to labeling,” said Libby Tipton, interpreter / coordinator of the deaf and hard of hearing outreach program. “Over the years, especially within education, many individuals with disabilities have been misdiagnosed in their youth and have been ‘labeled’ throughout their academic career.”
Most prejudicial language has negative connotations, so politically correct terms were created, which in turn allows individuals to feel accepted.
“I think that acceptance is a big issue,” Tipton said. “Being politically correct in our society and culture enables others to be enlightened. The important thing about using politically correct terminology is that we are acknowledging others as people and individuals.”
Many categorizations of people commonly used in the past are being replaced with less judgmental terminology. Some terms to be avoided are words that are offensive and unappealing to people with disabilities.
“We should focus on the person first and their ability, not their disability,” Tipton said.
According to a handout called, “Unhandicapping our Language” the preferred terms for people with physical disabilities are “physically disabled” or “physically challenged.” The handout also said that “individuals who use wheelchairs” is the correct phrase to use for people unable to get around without the aid of the device. Simply put, the wheelchair does not control them, they control it. It is also a good idea to always put the person before the disability.
According to the People First Language web site, (http://www. kidstogether.org/pep-1st02.htm), the Disability Rights Movement is following in the steps of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the Women’s Movement of the 1970s.
While people with disabilities and other advocates work to end discrimination and segregation in education, employment and the communities at large, they also must work together to eliminate the prejudicial language that creates an invisible barrier to their inclusion into mainstream society.
Labeling has also impacted the educational opportunities of individuals with disabilities.
“This has severely hindered their academic potential or success,” Tipton said. “As a result, individuals with disabilities, education professionals and disability advocates are now discouraging the use of ‘labels’ at all.”
Disability Etiquette says that when speaking to a person with a disability, speak directly to the person, not to the their companion, aide or sign-language interpreter. Do not make assumptions. The people with the disabilities are the best judge of what they can and cannot do. The booklet also explained that “many people who are deaf communicate with sign language and consider themselves to be members of a cultural and linguistic minority. They refer to themselves as Deaf, with a capital ‘ D,’ and may be offended by the term ‘hearing impaired.’ Use ‘hard of hearing’ to refer to people who have hearing loss but communicate in spoken language.”
“Language is always changing as is our society,” Tipton said. “So, individuals should be aware that descriptive terminology changes as well.”
References change because of our dynamic culture. Tipton said that individuals seek to find more appropriate words to describe and identify themselves.

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