why are disabled people now called "people with disabilities"?

Question

is this a PC thing or is there actually a good reason for it? is it considered offensive to refer to "disabled people" now?

Answer 1

Because they're people first, and disabled second.

So long as you don't use really offensive words, though, you'll be fine.

Answer 2

No- it is NOT about PC. It is about making sure we see "disabled people" as PEOPLE FIRST. The term "disabled people" is a label. The language used here implies that the sum total of the person is "disabled" - incapable.

Using Person with a disability focus on a person - whose disability is only a part of the total. It dignifies and empowers the person.
A person may have a disability but that is only part of the sum total of a person. They can also be a mother, a father, an accountant, a lecture, a customer, a boss, etc. I think you get the point.

To elementary: It's not PC gone mad. A good way to use the word is "a Student with Down's syndrome". It still recognises the condition but put it in a more positive light. It focuses on him as a STUDENT first.

To L B: :Some people might use the word "differently able" but this is also euphemism which is not really used in proper circles. I am from Australia and work in disability services for over 20 years and I can assure you - those terms are very patronising.

Well. that is my two cents worth to the discussion. I am glad people are asking such questions and are willing to discuss it in a rational and civilised manner unlike some other sections in Y!A - whether they agree or not doesn matter.

Cheers

Some good links here on appropriate language to use:
http://www.disability.qld.gov.au/community_involv/communication/way_words/language.html

this one is a pdf file - you can download and print it.
http://www.addc.org.au/webdocs/Disability%20Advocacy/Manuals/DHS_GUIDE_Communicating%20with%20people%20with%20disabilities_2005.pdf

Answer 3

I'd don't really know. Thats a good question and I hadn't thought of it before.

I think 'disabled people' sounds like mentally and physically the people are just generally disable in all aspects.

However, more often that not people have only one incapability and to brand them 'disabled' may come as an offense to them, i guess.

Just like Lobster said aswell, essentially using 'disabled' as an adjective makes it seem like that is all the person is.
However, with a 'person with disabilities' this shows that they are a person in their own right, but they just happen to have a disability aswell.

Therefore, I think probably both names are PC but the phrase 'person with disabilities' is nicer.

x

Answer 4

Its PC gone mad.

PWERNIE actually says her young man is Down Syndrome and then says she finds it hurtful when people call him a Down Syndrome student. Whats that all about?

PC over disabilities, race and sexuality has got ridiculous in UK over the course of the Blair years.

About a month ago I was described as Non-Disabled! I checked the "official" line and was advised this is the correct term for an able bodied person. WHAAAT!!? Sorry, but I thought the idea was that no-one should be described as a Non anything

A colleague of my ex-wife was SACKED for Racism because she brought in a wood carved African figure from her holiday!!

I grew up in the 60s and 70s. I am totally English but have olive skin and black hair. Everyone used to call me Paki and Half Caste. It ABSOLUTELY did me NO DAMAGE at all.

OK I'm not advocating that we go back to those days. But whatever anybody says a disabled person is disabled, a black person is black, a white person is white etc.....

Answer 5

I agree with lobster there.
I used to work in Mental Health and studid Psychology and the terms are constantly changing. It depends on the individual, but calling a person disabled is a bit tricky, because it suggests that they are less able. There are different theories on that, but some people feel disabled by society rather their mental or physical condition, e.g. if there is no wheel chair access or people being patronizing towards them.
Some people find the term "people with disabilities" offensive. I guess being called someone in context with their "condition" is always a form of stigma, after all we all have our own conditions :o)

Answer 6

'Best Answer' should definately go to lobster. Got it in a nutshell.

Interestingly the word 'handicapped' is no longer considered politically correct in the UK either, but widely used in the USA? And even more interestingly is the fact that some of the disabled people I work with will refer to themselves with the said word.

Basically, if a person is disabled, it still definately means they're (quite rightly) a person first and disabled second.

Answer 7

The other posters got it right--people first language is how it is referred to. To someone who doesn't live with a disability, or have a family member that does, I know it seems trivial. But as a parent of a young man with Down Syndrome, it is very hurtful to hear him called a 'Down's kid', or a Down Syndrome student. It is calling attention to the condition, not the person. I want people to see my son first and foremost, not the genetic disorder that he has.

And a side note to Jason: the term 'handicapped' came about because the disabled population many years ago were primarily reduced to begging in order to survive. So they went 'cap in hand' to the streets.

Answer 8

To my knowledge these days disabled people, people with disabilities/special needs, and handicapped are used interchangably.

It's not neccessarily a nice or cool label however it's a lot better than the label and overly misused word, retarded.

Yes I know mental retardation is supposed to a developmental/mental illness/disability but we all know throughout the years, it was used as a label to describe anyone with any level of a disability.

Answer 9

It's PC and is supposed to remind others that disabled people are people first! If people were brought up properly or by a disabled parent they shouldn't need reminding!

I am a person with disabilities. I'm deaf on one side and sometimes need a walking stick due to spinal arthritis! and I'm under 4ft 10ins. a PC 'person who is vertically challenged'
My boss is a wheelchair user (MS) and is a similar height in his chair! Call us anything you like, be as PC as you like Just don't be stupid, or call us it to be offensive! Most don't know they are stupid because they know they are 'normal' but we must be stupid as everyone knows that little people have little brains, people who can't walk well or not at all have damaged brains and people who say 'Pardon, can you repeat that don't understand much! In fact I must be really stupid! As both of us have above average intelligence we know where the stupidity really lies!

Answer 10

Probably. Everything has to do with respect and political correctness these days. Years ago people with disabilities were called anything from handicapped to retarded to gimp. The change to view the person and not his or her malady first just shows respect for the equality of mankind.

I guess 'disabled people' kind of is like saying the whole person is disabled rather than just a specific flaw, that might be totally adjusted for.

Answer 11

Because they are not disabled people. They have their own real talents and gifts to add to society. Persons who have a disability is a better discription. It can't be hidden and they must learn to work around the world they live in in other ways. that is why I prefer "otherwise abled". The more you work around persons with disabilities the more talent you find in how to deal with the world around us when it makes little sence...