Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana – Disability Support Services

ACCESS Guide: Policy Statement Language of Disability Definition of Disability and Legal Basis Questions and Answers for Students Questions and Answers for Faculty/Staff Accommodations for Visual Impairments Accommodations for Learning Disabilities/ Brain Injuries/Attention Deficit Disorders Accommodations for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Accommodations for Epilepsy Accommodations for Mobility Impairments Accommodations for Psychological Disabilities/Other Disabilities Forms ADA Information Services Acknowledgments Return to Disability Support Services

Disability Support Services
Access — A Guide for Students, Faculty and Staff Language of Disability

What's in a name?

The language used to describe people with disabilities often focuses on the disability, rather than on the individual. This bias can create barriers to acceptance in the community. Please consider the following suggestions:

Instead of saying:	Say:
handicapped	person with a disability
the visually impaired	person with a visual impairment (Emphasize the person.)
wheelchair bound	person who uses a wheelchair (A wheelchair may be liberating, not confining.)
normal or healthy (when used as opposite of disabled)	person without a disability
victim of ___ or crippled	When appropriate, choose the correct terminology for the specific disability (like spina bifida, specific learning disability, cerebral palsy, etc.)