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IHDD Institute on Human Development and DisabilityBuilding Bridges to Communities

DISABILITY RIGHTS
AND ADVOCACY

Choice and Control:
  • ADA
  • Olmstead
  • Self Determination
  • Self Advocacy

  • Full Futures For All:
  • Full Futures For All -
        Vietnam


  • People First:
  • People First Language
  • People First of Georgia

  • Safety and Civil Rights:
  • Civil Rights / OCR
  • Community Safety
  • Maltreatment of Children
  • Safe and Able
  • Person First Language

    Person first language is a respectful way to speak to and about people with disabilities. In person-first language, the person is referred to first, then the disability. This reflects that the disability is a characteristic of the individual, but does not define that person.

    Words or Phrases to Avoid
    Person-First Language
    Wheel chair-bound /
    Confined to a wheelchair
    Uses a wheelchair
    Handicapped woman
    A woman with a disability
    Handicapped parking
    Accessible parking
    He’s retarded.
    He has an intellectual disability
    Mongoloid girl
    Girl with Down Syndrome
    Mental, crazy, insane
    Has mental illness/mental health issues
    Mute
    Doesn’t speak/use words
    Hard of hearing
    Has a hearing impairment
    Deaf/dumb
    Is deaf/doesn’t use spoken language
    Crippled
    Has a physical disability/doesn’t walk/
    Uses a wheelchair/crutches
    Midget/dwarf
    Little Person
    Suffers from ....
    Victim of……
    Afflicted with….
     

    Additional Person First Language Resources

    http://www.southernct.edu/departments/drc/faculty/Language.htm
    http://www.asha.org/about/publications/journal-abstracts/submissions/person_first.htm
    http://nationalserviceresources.org/epicenter/practices/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=1332
    http://www.autism-mi.org/aboutautism/TeacherTools12-04.html


    The Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD)
    Athens, Georgia 30602-4806
    706-542-3457 * Fax: 706-542-4815 * E-mail: contact@ihdd.uga.edu