Disability Awareness
Accessibility
"Accessibility " means more than ramps for
wheelchairs. People with all types of disabilities must
be ensured equal access to facilities, services and
programs.
Architectural, communication, programmatic, and policy
barriers prevent people from participating fully in
society. People with disabilities cannot assume they
can use common public places, such as stores, banks,
offices, and restaurants, or participate in ordinary
activities, such as working, getting an education, visiting
friends and attending community events. Most non-disabled
people take these freedoms for granted.
VSA arts of Rhode Island works with cultural organizations
to eliminate physical and programmatic barriers that
keep people from fully availing  themselves
of the arts. VSA arts of RI promotes access by providing
direct consultation to cultural and arts organizations
ranging from phone consultations to total access site
surveys. Fees for service are flexible and are negotiated
prior to consultation. All art and cultural organizations
are eligible for site surveys.
Accessible Rhode Island will give readers
the concise, practical information t hey
need in order to choose leisure time activities that
interest them and are accessible to them and their families.
Over 400 Rhode Island cultural, artistic, entertainment,
sports, educational, recreational and restaurant venues have been
reviewed to determine their current state of access
and to provide readers with user-friendly listings that
are accurate.
To view the on line Accessible Rhode Island Guide , please visit:
www.accessiblerhodeisland.org
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People First
Language
Language shapes the way those around us speak and act
toward one another and conveys the respect we have for
others/ The use of appropriate language aboput people
with disabilites can be an important tool in building
a community that accepts all people.
Appropriate language is both sensitive and accurate.
VSA arts promotes the use of "people first"
language - language that puts the focus on the individual,
rather than on a disability. "People first"
language helps us remember that people are unique individuals
and that their abilities or disabilities are only part
of who they are.
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person with a disability
|
| Negative phrase: |
The disabled, handicapped, crippled, suffers from
a disability
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person who is blind, person with visual impairment
or has low vision
|
| Negative phrase: |
The blind
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person who is Deaf, person who is hard of hearing
|
| Negative phrase: |
The deaf; deaf and dumb, suffers a hearing loss
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person who uses a wheelchair
|
| Negative phrase: |
Confined or restricted to a wheelchair; wheelchair
bound
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person with a physical disability, person with
a mobility impairment
|
| Negative phrase: |
Cripple, lame, handicapped, deformed, physically
challenged
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person with learning disabilites
|
| Negative phrase: |
The learning disabled, the mentally defective
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person with epilepsy, person with a seizure disorder
|
| Negative phrase: |
Epileptic
|
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| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person who has AIDS, person who is HIV positive
|
| Negative phrase: |
AIDS victim, "victim" sensationalizes
a person's disability. A person is not a victim
of an impartial disease or disability
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person who has multiple sclerosis. Person who
had muscular dystrophy, person affected by cerebral
palsy.
|
| Negative phrase: |
Afflicted by MS, stricked by MD, CP victim
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person who does not speak, is nonverbal
|
| Negative phrase: |
Dumb, mute
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person with mental illness
|
| Negative phrase: |
Crazy, pyscho, or lunatic
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Older person, older adult
|
| Negative phrase: |
The aged, the elderly
|
| |
|
| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person who lives in a nursing home or long-term
care facility
|
| Negative phrase: |
The infirm, the institutionalized, the homebound
|
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| Affirmative Phrase: |
Person without disabilities, non-disabled person
|
| Negative phrase: |
Normal person - this implies a person with a disability
isn't normal; normal is acceptable when applied
to statistical norms and averages only
|
| |
|
Affirmative Phrase: |
Successful, productive |
| Negative phrase: |
Courageous - this implies the person is a hero
or martyr |
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Suggestions
to Improve Access and Positive Interactions
The way you portray people in what you write or say
may enhance their dignity and promote positive attitudes.
While politically correct vocabularies are constantly
changing, the following are here to stay:
Never use the word "handicapped"; the word
is disability.
Never use a disability as an adjective. It is not a
blind actor but an actor who is blind. The focus should
be on the person, not the disability.
Avoid labels or "clumping" that refer to
people with disabilities as a group - "the disabled,"
"the handicapped," "the blind" and
"the physically challenged."
Never use euphemisms such as "physically challenged,"
differently abled," and "handi-capable."
Many disability groups object to these phrases because
they are considered condescending and reinforce the
idea that barriers are good or that disabilities exist
to build the person's character. The person has a disability
and disabilities can be spoken of in an upfront and
direct manner.
Never use "special". This separates the individual
from the group. You do not require information regarding
"special needs of the group" but "needs
of the group." No "special" tours, but
tours that include people with disabilities.
Refer to people with disabilities as you would anyone
else. Do not sensationalize or over-dramatize a disability
by using terms such as "afflicted with," "suffers
from," "victim of" or "crippled
with." Do not "super- humanize" people
with disabilities who are successful just because they
have a disability. These expressions are considered
offensive and inaccurate to people with disabilities.
When referring to people who use wheelchairs, avoid
terms such as "wheelchair bound" or "confined
to a wheelchair." Wheelchairs do not confine people
with disabilities. People use wheelchairs for mobility
and they provide freedom of movement to assist individuals
in traveling throughout the country.
When writing or speaking about people with disabilities,
emphasize abilities rather than limitations, focusing
on a person's accomplishments, creative talents, or
skills. This does not mean avoiding mention of a person's
disability, but doing so in a respectful manner and
only when relevant to the situation.
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