List of disability-related terms with negative connotations

The following is a list of terms used to describe people with disabilities or disabilities, these terms may be considered negative and/or offensive by people with or without disabilities.

There is a great deal of disagreement as to what should be considered offensive. Views vary with geography and culture, over time, and among individuals. Some of the terms, such as "retard" and "lame," are deliberate insults; others, such as "wheelchair-bound," are inherently negative; still others, such as "Mongolism," are based on stereotypical ideas of certain groups of individuals with disabilities.

Many other terms' inclusion of this list can be disputed because they are highly interpretable. For example, some people consider the word "handicapped" to be derogatory, while others see it as a synonym for "a person with a disability"; and it is still used by some people with disabilities. Certain people are offended by such terms, while others are offended by the replacement of such terms with what they consider to be euphemisms (e.g., "differently abled" or "special needs"). Some people believe that terms should be avoided if they might offend people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms used in a non-offensive context.

Finally, some people with disabilities are choosing to reclaim certain terms, using them to describe themselves with high-impact effect. This reclaiming of hurtful words takes the power away from those who intend to use them to put others down. Reclaiming a term gives it a positive meaning when used by the people it describes, but it is still considered a slur when used by others:

* used to mean "a person with a physical or mobility impairment." Its shortened form, "crip" is often used by firebrand people with disabilities as a term of endearment. See also the essay "On Being a Cripple" by Nancy Mairs.
* "Gimp" used to refer to people with physical disabilities and, like crip, is being reclaimed for positive use among people with disabilities.
* used to mean "person with a disability", and for "disability". It is unclear how often the term "handicapped" is still used by either the disabled or the able-bodied.
* Joey, used as a derogatory term for someone with Cerebral Palsy (see Joey Deacon), is still an offensive term unused by any responsible party.
* Lame refers to difficulty walking or moving. It is also a universally offensive term.
* Midget used to mean "dwarf." In its place, little person or short stature is now used.
* "Mongol," "Mongoloid," "Panface," "Mong," or "Mongolism" for Down syndrome originated from the perception that facial features of people with Down syndrome were similar to those of people from Mongolia. The term is now not used.
* is a vulgar term denoting a person afflicted with the congenital deformity . Microcephalics have been exhibited in s billed as "human pinheads"; was famously exhibited by P. T. Barnum for many years. Microcephalics are characterized by a small, tapering cranium and often, though not always, impaired mental faculty, which is the basis for the disparaging, , attribution of the term pinhead to others with whom the speaker disagrees or believes to be illogical.
* "Retard" used to describe someone with a learning disability, mental retardation, a significantly low IQ, or some other learning or developmental disability); this term "retard" is used as a vulgar term and is not used, unless it is deliberately used as a term of offense. Since there is no other connotation other than negative, it is always offensive.
* "Schizo" or "Schizoid" for schizophrenia is still in wide use among the general population, as is "psycho" for psychosis.
* "Slow" or Slow learner for someone with a learning disability has generally fallen out of favor but is still in use occasionally in certain contexts.
* Spazz (or "Spaz," "Spazzy," "Spack," or "Spackhead") for someone with Cerebral Palsy used to be an alternative to spastic which was in turn an acceptable self-descriptive term used by people with CP themselves; however, the term is now unacceptable as it has come to be applied to the overall athletic population when a sports-player seems overly anxious or tightly-moving in sports. As the CP-affected population felt this was inappropriate, it stopped using the term in self-description (see the entry Scope (British charity).
* Special Ed- could be interpreted as patronizing but is still fairly commonly used in the educational system.
* "The Disabled," "The Blind" etc. instead of "people with disabilities", "people who are blind" etc can actually be seen by many disabled activists as positive, in a manner similar to the fact that most people don't usually use "people with Blackness" to refer to Black people. In a manner similar to Deaf culture, "The Blind" may see themselves separate from "The Sighted"; "The Disabled" and "The Disabled Community" are used similarly.
* "Wheelchair-bound" for someone who uses a wheelchair is unacceptable because of the word "bound" being used in it, which is akin to slavery's chains. "Wheelchair user" or "person who uses a wheelchair" is preferred, referring to the wheelchair as a tool rather than an entrapment.
* "Yuppie flu" used as a pejorative term for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or CFS. This originated from the media stereotype of people with ME as ambitious, young, and affluent, and having an illness indistinguishable from influenza, neither of which are accurate portrayals. [Compact Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press [http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/yuppieflu?view=uk] ] [Packhard, Randall M. (2004). Emerging Illnesses and Society: Negotiating the Public Health Agenda. Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 156. ISBN 0-801-879-426] [Anon. "New Therapy For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome To Be Tested At Stanford" Medical News Today 10th Jan 2007 [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=60423] ]

ee also

* Disability etiquette
* Ableism
* Inclusion (disability rights)

References

* [http://www.hw.ac.uk/welfare/disability/disability_etiquette.pdf Disability etiquette: appropriate language and behavior]
* [http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/features/discrimination/murderball/index3.jhtml#terminology Terminology tips]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/yourspace/worstwords/ BBC Ouch!'s most offensive disability-related words]
* [http://esay.disability.qld.gov.au/text/publications/waywithwords.pdf A Way With Words: guidelines for the portrayal of people with a disability]