Is it offensive to say that someone is "disabled"," wheel-chair bound" etc?
2006-11-01 09:52:49 · 4 answers · asked by Georgina 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
The politically incorrect terms are those that imply the disabled person is somehow inferior or abnormal because of or as a result of the disability. Terms like crip, cripple, spaz, spastic, gimp, freak, and retard are among the terms to be avoided.
2006-11-01 10:08:47 · answer #1 · answered by Grist 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends because the words that are considered not offensive change over time and between groups.
Your best bet though is to say
Person who has a disablity or uses a wheel chair
not disabled person, definitely not handicapped or wheel chair bound.
That applies to most things - person who is hard of hearing or blind
not blind person etc.
2006-11-01 09:55:50 · answer #2 · answered by Bebe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people I know that have a disability don't care as long as you don't say something that is just outright mean. What you don't do is make it a big deal though, many of my friends are proud that they have figured out how to get on with life in spite of their disability, and they hate when people are always trying to help them or go out of their way o try and make them feel good. People with disabilities are people too.
2006-11-01 10:06:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tacking the particular disability on to the word challenged seems to be in vogue these days. So, someone in a wheelchair would be "mobility-challenged" . A blind person would be "visually-challenged" and so on.
2006-11-01 10:06:23 · answer #4 · answered by pat z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋