How to Write – and Talk – about
Disability
Guidelines for positive powerful
portrayal
from Research and Training Center on Independent Living
Editor’s Note:
The words and images we use can create either a straightforward,
positive view of people with disabilities or an insensitive portrayal
that reinforces common myths and is a form of discrimination. Although
the following excerpts are from guidelines intended for writers,
they can help us all make better choices in terms of language and
portrayal.
Introduction
As writers, we
should all strive for accuracy and use current terminology regarding
people with disabilities. To do otherwise is not only substandard
journalism, it also can offend readers.
This revised Guidelines for Reporting and Writing about People with
Disabilities explains preferred terminology and offers suggestions
for accurate ways to describe people with disabilities.
Although opinions may differ on some terms, this booklet reflects
input from more than 100 national disability organizations and has
been reviewed and endorsed by media and disability experts throughout
the country.
Portrayal Issues
Please consider
the following when writing about people with disabilities.
Do not focus on disability unless it is crucial to a story. Avoid
tear-jerking human interest stories about incurable diseases, congenital
impairments or severe injury. Focus instead on issues that affect the
quality of life for those same individuals, such as accessible transportation,
housing, affordable health care, employment opportunities and discrimination.
People with disabilities actively participate in their communities
and can participate even more when portrayed just like anyone else
in the community.
Put people first, not
their disability. Say woman with arthritis, a child who has a learning
disability, or person with a disability. This puts the focus on
the individual, not the particular functional limitation. Labeling
the person as the disability (for example, a quad) dehumanizes
the individual and equates the condition with the person. It is
people first, too, for indicating disability groups. Say people
with cystic fibrosis or people who have cancer. Terms such as “the_____
(for example, “the retarded”) imply a homogenous
group separate from society as a whole.
Do not portray successful
people with disabilities as heroic overachievers or long suffering
saints. Even though the public may find these portrayals inspirational,
these stereotypes raise false expectations that all people—with and without disabilities—should be such “super
humans.”
Avoid sensalization and negative
labeling. Saying afflicted with, crippled with, victim of or suffers
from devalues individuals with disabilities by portraying them as
helpless objects of pity and charity. It is more neutral to say an
individual with AIDS than a person who suffers from AIDS. Similarly,
do not use emotional descriptors such as unfortunate or pitiful.
Emphasize abilities, not limitations, for example, uses leg braces
or walks with crutches, rather than confined to a wheelchair or wheelchair
bound. For, in reality, wheelchairs and crutches represent independence,
not a burden. To emphasize capabilities, avoid words that start with
in, dis, un, or de that imply lacking or inferiority such as invalid
or defective.
Bypass condescending euphemisms. Disability groups also strongly object
to the use of euphemisms to describe disabilities. Terms such as handicapable,
differently abled, special, and challenged reinforce the idea that
people cannot deal honestly with their disabilities.
Maintain the integrity of each individual and do not use words or
phrases regarded as offensive such as freak, subnormal, vegetable,
misshapen, feeble minded, or imbecile.
Do not imply disease
when discussing disabilities that result from a prior disease episode.
People who had polio and experienced after effects have post-polio
syndrome. They are not currently experiencing the disease. Do not
imply disease with people whose disability has resulted from anatomical
or physiological damage (for example, a person with spina bifida
or cerebral palsy). Reference to disease associated with a disability
is acceptable only with chronic diseases, such as arthritis, Parkinson’s
disease, or multiple sclerosis. Individuals with disabilities should
never be referred to as patients or cases unless their relationship
with their doctor is under discussion.
Portions of the Guidelines,
which originally were funded by the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation Research, have been adopted into the Associated
Press Stylebook, a basic reference for professional journalists.
Please use the Guidelines when you write or report about people with
disabilities. ![]()
Appropriate Terminology
Below is a sample
of the consensus - preferred terms for referring to disabilities.
Accessible
refers
to accommodations for people who have a disability. Replace
disabled or handicapped with accessible such as an accessible
parking space rather than a handicapped parking space.
Autism
is considered
to be a spectrum condition, as the symptoms may encompass
a wide array of physical and behavioral anomalies. These
conditions may be characterized by functional limitations
in social interactions, language use and form, and repetitive
actions. Effects can result in mild to severe impairment
and can be mixed, that is, a person with severe limitations
in one area may have normal or even extraordinary capabilities
in another. Do not say autistic. Say person with autism.
Blind
describes a
condition in which a person has loss of vision for ordinary
life purposes. Visually impaired or living with vision
loss are the generic terms used by some individuals to refer
to all degrees of vision loss. Say boy who is blind, girl
who is visually impaired, or man who has low vision.
Brain Injury
describes
a condition where there is long-term or temporary disruption
in brain function resulting from injury to the brain. Difficulties
with cognitive, physical, emotional and/or social functioning
may occur. Do not say brain damaged. Say person with a
brain injury, woman who has sustained brain injury, or employee
with an acquired brain injury.
In future issues we hope to print more of the group’s consensus-preferred
terms for referring to disabilities.
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To obtain the complete set of guidelines,
or an attractive 18” x 24” poster of disability writing
style do’s and don’ts, contact: Publications, Research
and Training Center on Independent Living, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue,
Room 4089 Dole, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7555.
You can also contact our Center by e-mail: rtcil@ku.edu,
phone: 785-864-4095, TTY: 785-864-0706, or by fax: 785-864-5063.
Information about the Guidelines is also on the World Wide Web
under www.rtcil.org.
Excerpted with permission from Guidelines
for Reporting and Writing about People With Disabilities. ©2007
Seventh Edition. Research and Training Center on Independent Living,
University of Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas
