Editing Disability (section)

== Terminology ==

=== People-first language ===
{{Main|People-first language}}

People-first language is one way to talk about disability which some people prefer. Using people-first language is said to put the person before the disability. Those individuals who prefer people-first language would prefer to be called, "a person with a disability". This style is reflected in major legislation on disability rights, including the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disabilities Act]] and the [[Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities|UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]].

"Cerebral Palsy: A Guide for Care" at the [[University of Delaware]] describes people-first language:<ref>{{cite web |title=Cerebral Palsy: a Guide for Care |url=http://gait.aidi.udel.edu/res695/homepage/pd_ortho/clinics/c_palsy/cpweb.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717202741/http://gait.aidi.udel.edu/res695/homepage/pd_ortho/clinics/c_palsy/cpweb.htm |archive-date=July 17, 2007 |access-date=July 29, 2007 |publisher=The Nemours Foundation}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The [[APA style|American Psychological Association style guide]] states that, when identifying a person with a disability, the person's name or pronoun should come first, and descriptions of the disability should be used so that the disability is identified, but is not modifying the person. Acceptable examples included "a woman with [[Down syndrome]]" or "a man who has [[schizophrenia]]". It also states that a person's adaptive equipment should be described functionally as something that assists a person, not as something that limits a person, for example, "a woman who uses a wheelchair" rather than "a woman in/confined to a wheelchair".}}

People-first terminology is used in the UK in the form "people with impairments" (such as "people with visual impairments"). However, in the UK, identity-first language is generally preferred over people-first language.

The use of people-first terminology has given rise to the use of the acronym PWD to refer to person(s) (or people) with disabilities (or disability).<ref>{{cite book |last=Meyers |first=Stephen |title=Crises, Conflict and Disability: Ensuring Equality |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2014 |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor1-first=David |page=195 |chapter=Chapter 23. The past dividing the present |editor2-last=Karr |editor2-first=Valerie}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 20, 2014 |title=Groups and individuals honored at PWD Day |newspaper=[[The Manila Times]] |url=http://www.manilatimes.net/groups-and-individuals-honored-at-pwd-day/97928/ |access-date=July 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719111146/http://www.manilatimes.net/groups-and-individuals-honored-at-pwd-day/97928/ |archive-date=July 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Department for International Development |author-link=Department for International Development |title=Recognising & Implementing Housing Rights CSCF449 |url=http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-114000/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719070354/http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-114000/ |archive-date=July 19, 2014 |access-date=July 15, 2014}}</ref> However other individuals and groups prefer identity-first language to emphasize how a disability can impact people's identities. Which style of language used varies between different countries, groups and individuals.

=== Identity-first language ===
Identity-first language describes the person as "disabled". Some people prefer this and argue that this fits the social model of disability better than people-first language, as it emphasizes that the person is disabled not by their body, but by a world that does not accommodate them.<ref name=":12">{{cite journal |last1=Dunn |first1=D. S. |last2=Andrews |first2=E. E. |year=2015 |title=Person-first and identity-first language: Developing psychologists' cultural competence using disability language |journal=The American Psychologist |volume=70 |issue=3 |pages=255–64 |doi=10.1037/a0038636 |pmid=25642702}}</ref>

This is especially true in the UK, where it is argued under the [[Social model of disability|social model]] that while someone's impairment (for example, having a [[spinal cord injury]]) is an individual property, "disability" is something created by external societal factors such as a lack of accessibility.<ref>Davis, Ken. (January 3, 2009]. [http://www.gcil.org.uk/FileAccess.aspx?id=59 The Social Model of Disability] Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103084307/http://www.gcil.org.uk/FileAccess.aspx?id=59|date=January 3, 2009}}</ref> This distinction between the individual property of impairment and the social property of disability is central to the [[Social model of disability|social model]]. The term "disabled people" as a political construction is also widely used by international organizations of disabled people, such as [[Disabled Peoples' International]].

Using the identity-first language also parallels how people talk about other aspects of identity and diversity. For example:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haller |first=Beth |title=Journalists should learn to carefully traverse a variety of disability terminology {{!}} National Center on Disability and Journalism |url=https://ncdj.org/2016/01/journalists-should-learn-to-carefully-traverse-a-variety-of-disability-terminology/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324053851/http://ncdj.org/2016/01/journalists-should-learn-to-carefully-traverse-a-variety-of-disability-terminology/ |archive-date=March 24, 2016 |access-date=April 27, 2019 |location=Arizona State University |language=en-US |department=Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication}}</ref>

{{blockquote|In the autism community, many self-advocates and their allies prefer terminology such as 'Autistic,' 'Autistic person,' or 'Autistic individual' because we understand autism as an inherent part of an individual's identity – the same way one refers to 'Muslims,' 'African-Americans,' 'Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer,' 'Chinese,' 'gifted,' 'athletic,' or 'Jewish.'}}

Similarly, [[Deaf culture|Deaf communities]] in the US reject people-first language in favor of identity-first language.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lum |first1=Doman |title=Culturally Competent Practice: A Framework for Understanding |date=2010 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-8400-3443-4 |page=441 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMqGhHCxXUYC&pg=PA441 }}</ref>

In 2021, the US [[Association on Higher Education and Disability]] (AHEAD) announced their decision to use identity-first language in their materials, explaining:
"Identity-first language challenges negative connotations by claiming disability directly. Identity-first language references the variety that exists in how our bodies and brains work with a myriad of conditions that exist, and the role of inaccessible or oppressive systems, structures, or environments in making someone disabled."<ref>{{Cite web |title=AHEAD Statement on Language {{!}} Association on Higher Education and Disability |url=https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/accommodations/statement-on-language |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209172026/https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/accommodations/statement-on-language |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |access-date=February 9, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Handicap ===
:The term ''handicap'' derives from the medieval game [[hand-in-cap]], in which two players trade possessions, and a third, neutral person judges the difference of value between the possessions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/handicap|title=Definition of handicap in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English)|access-date=April 12, 2013|archive-date=April 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403024532/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/handicap}}</ref> The concept of a neutral person evening up the odds was extended to [[Handicap (horse racing)|handicap racing]] in the mid-18th century, where horses carry different weights based on the umpire's estimation of what would make them run equally. In the early 20th century the word gained the additional meaning of describing a disability, in the sense that a person with a handicap was carrying a heavier burden than normal.<ref name="ety">{{cite web|url=http://etymonline.com/?term=handicap|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=April 12, 2013|archive-date=September 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915095725/http://etymonline.com/?term=handicap|url-status=live}}</ref> This concept, then, adds to the conception of disability as a burden, or individual problem, rather than a societal problem.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=D'Mello|first1=Laveena|last2=Monteiro|first2=Meena|last3=B.M.|first3=Govindaraju|date=July 24, 2017|title=Psycho-Social Problems faced by Persons with Disability|journal=International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences|pages=1–7|doi=10.47992/ijmts.2581.6012.0019|s2cid=231214034 |issn=2581-6012|doi-access=free}}</ref> The UK government advises civil servants to avoid this term.<ref>GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/inclusive-language-words-to-use-and-avoid-when-writing-about-disability</ref>

=== Accessibility ===
[[File:Taiwan Accessibility.jpg|alt=A blue sign with a white border and text displays a graphic of a person in a wheelchair.|thumb|A sign in Taiwan showing a wheelchair accessibility ramp]]
: [[Accessibility]] is the degree to which a product, service or environment is available for use to the people that need it. People with certain types of disabilities struggle to get equal access to some things in society. For example, a blind person cannot read printed [[Ballot|paper ballots]], and therefore does not have access to voting that requires paper ballots. Another example can be that a person in a wheelchair cannot ascend stairs and therefore does not have access to buildings without ramps. Accessible access to health clubs and fitness centers has been observed to be especially problematic.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bradley J. Cardinal & Marc D. Spaziani |title=ADA compliance and the accessibility of physical activity facilities in western Oregon |journal=American Journal of Health Promotion |date=2003 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=197–201 |doi=10.4278/0890-1171-17.3.197|pmid=12545588 |s2cid=46766567 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cardinal |first1=Bradley J. |title=Fitness for all: Is your club ADA compliant? |journal=Club Industry |date=2003 |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=31–33}}</ref>

=== Accommodation ===
: A change that improves access. For example, if voting ballots are available in [[braille]] or on a [[Text to Speech|text-to-speech]] machine, or if another person reads the ballot to the blind person and recorded the choices, then the blind person would have access to voting.

=== Invisible disability ===
{{main|Invisible disability}}
Invisible disabilities, also known as Hidden Disabilities or Non-visible Disabilities (NVD), are disabilities that are not immediately apparent, or seeable. They are often [[chronic illnesses]] and conditions that significantly impair normal activities of daily living. Invisible disabilities can hinder a person's efforts to go to school, work, socialize, and more. Some examples of invisible disabilities include [[intellectual disabilities]], [[autism spectrum disorder]], [[attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]], [[fibromyalgia]], [[mental disorder]]s, [[asthma]], [[epilepsy]], [[allergies]], [[migraine]]s, [[arthritis]], and [[chronic fatigue syndrome]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.umass.edu/studentlife/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/Invisible%20Disabilities%20List%20%26%20Information.pdf |title=Invisible Disabilities: List & Information |work=Disabled World |date=October 28, 2015 |access-date=February 15, 2021 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225031631/http://www.umass.edu/studentlife/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/Invisible%20Disabilities%20List%20%26%20Information.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Employment discrimination]] is reported to play a significant part in the high rate of [[unemployment]] among those with a diagnosis of mental illness.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Stuart H | title = Mental illness and employment discrimination | journal = Current Opinion in Psychiatry | volume = 19 | issue = 5 | pages = 522–6 | date = September 2006 | pmid = 16874128 | doi = 10.1097/01.yco.0000238482.27270.5d | s2cid = 45821626 }}</ref>

=== Episodic disability ===
People with health conditions such as [[arthritis]], [[bipolar disorder]], [[HIV]], or [[multiple sclerosis]] may have periods of wellness between episodes of illness. During the illness episodes people's ability to perform normal tasks, such as work, can be intermittent.<ref>Furrie, Adele, Rebecca Gewurtz, Wendy Porch, Cameron Crawford, Maureen Haan, and John Stapleton. "Episodic Disabilities in Canada." 2016</ref>