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Do not use these words that have strong
negative connotations:
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Words with Dignity
These words reflect a positive attitude:
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- handicap/the handicapped
- crippled with..
- victim of…
- spastic
- patient (except in hospital setting)
- invalid
- paralytic
- stricken with…
- normal (acceptable only for quoting statistics)
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- person who is disabled
- person with a disability
- nondisabled (referring to nondisabled persons as “normal” insinuates that disabled persons are abnormal)
- person who has multiple sclerosis
- person who has muscular dystrophy
- paraplegic (person with limited or no use of lower limbs)
- quadriplegic (person with limited or no use of all four limbs)
- person who has cerebral palsy
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- birth defect
- inflicted
- afflicted/afflicted by
- deformed/deformed by
- incapacitated
- poor
- unfortunate
- blind person
- retarded person
- learning disabled person
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- disabled since birth
- caused by "_______"
- born with "______"
- person who had polio
- person with mental retardation
- person with mental disability
- person who is blind
- person with a speech disorder
- person with a learning disability
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- deaf person
- pre-lingually deaf (deaf at birth or within 28 months after birth)
- post-lingually deaf (deaf after 28 months of age)
- deaf/profoundly deaf (no hearing capability
- hearing-loss (some hearing capability)
- hard-of-hearing (hearing impaired or communicates through speaking and speech reading. NOTE: Some individuals completely disfavor the term “Hearing Impaired”.)
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- Confined to a wheelchair
- Restricted to a wheelchair
- Wheelchair bound
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- person in a wheelchair
- person who uses a wheelchair
- person who walks with crutches
Crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs are mobility aids. Without the use of these mobility aids, the person is restricted from participation in their community.
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- alcoholic
- addict
- AIDS victim
- crazy
- manic
- schizo
- psycho
- lunatic
- demented
- autistic
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- person who is alcohol dependent
- person who is substance dependent
- person living with HIV
- person with AIDS (PWA) or person living with AIDS
- person with a psychiatric disability
- psychiatric illness
- emotional disorders
- mental disorders
- mental illness
- person with autism
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