Re: Question on Terminology

Hi John,

I am  aware of the Deaf community preferences.
http://wfdeaf.org/faq

But I was not aware of a growing movement by people with autism. Thank you.

What I was wondering about is people with visual disabilities. The
National Center on Disability and Journalism's Style Guide says,
"Visually impaired: This is general term describes a wide range of
visual functions, from low vision to total blindness. It is generally
considered acceptable, although, like the term hearing impaired, some
may object to it because it describes the condition in terms of a
deficiency."
http://ncdj.org/style-guide/

Thanks again.

Kindest Regards,
Laura

On 1/11/16, Rochford, John <john.rochford@umassmed.edu> wrote:
> Hi Laura,
>
>
>
> Many in the Deaf community do not think of being deaf as having a
> disability. They thus find offensive terms such as "impairment". For
> decades, they have wanted to be referred to as "the Deaf" with a capital "D"
> instead of being referred to using people-first language.
>
>
>
> Interestingly, the Deaf community used to be unique in that way. Yet there
> is now a growing movement by many people with autism. They too don't want to
> be referred to with people-first language. Instead, they want to be referred
> to as "Autistics".
>
>
>
> I have never noticed that same thinking within the community of people with
> visual disabilities.
>
> John
>
> John Rochford<http://profiles.umassmed.edu/profiles/display/132901>
> UMass Medical School/E.K. Shriver Center
> Director, INDEX Program
> Instructor, Family Medicine & Community Health
> www.DisabilityInfo.org
> Twitter: @ClearHelper<https://twitter.com/clearhelper>
> [Facebook
> Button]<http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-England-INDEXShriver-CenterUMass-Medical-School/227064920160>[Twitter
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> <http://www.disabilityinfo.org/blog/>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Laura Carlson [mailto:laura.lee.carlson@gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 2:41 PM
> To: public-low-vision-a11y-tf <public-low-vision-a11y-tf@w3.org>
> Subject: Question on Terminology
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> This may be a stupid question but I was rereading the overview [1] and
> noticed the word "Impairment" is used several times. Is the word okay to use
> for people with visual disabilities or like the term "hearing impaired",
> some object as it describes the condition in terms of a deficiency?
>
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
> Kindest Regards,
>
> Laura
>
> [1]
> https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/wiki/Overview_of_Low_Vision#Overview_of_Low_Vision
>
> [2] http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/access/who/#words
>
>
>


-- 
Laura L. Carlson

Received on Monday, 11 January 2016 22:37:48 UTC