- From: Jim Rebman <James.Rebman@Colorado.EDU>
- Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 16:27:46 -0600
- To: Kynn Bartlett <kynn@idyllmtn.com>
- Cc: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Kynn, In addition to what Wayne said about the person first" protocol, I think it is simply a matter of being accurate in describing the condition. You are never going to satisfy everybody, but here are the rules I use in my own presentations: Blindness: Blind or visually impaired are appropriate. Each is accurate and each describes a different circumstance (although some people believe that blind is the only word that is accurate, and some don't like to hear it and prefer VI instead). Stick with the one that is most appropriate in the context in which you are using it and avoid wording that lumps all people into a single category such as, "the blind". Same advice for deafness and hearing impaired. They are both accurate and describe different situations. Wheelchair users: Paralyzed seems to be too general and most of my friends who use wheelchairs would prefer a more definate term such as paraplegic or quadraplegic (if that is the case), or simply "wheelchair user", or "someone who uses a wheelchair". "Wheelchair bound" and "confined to a wheelchair" are out. "handicapped" seems to be universally disliked as it is anachronistic and reinforces the popular notion that people with disabilities are most often relegated to begging -- cap-in-hand. "Challenged" is just dismal. This is the sort of language that was popularized by people like Jerry Lewis and those of his ilk that continue to tug on the heartstrings of the bleeding hearts that have absolutely no understanding of what it means to be a person with a disability, and who are scared to death that they could become "that way". It keeps the disabled population firmly in the medical model in the minds of the general public, and this is probably the number one barrier, at the systemic level, which we must overcome before any semblance of equality can be realized. It is way too PC and just sicky-sweet, and every time I hear it used I feel like giving a little lecture (but I'm usually more polite than that<grin>.) I am blind and I'm neither proud of it nor ashamed of it -- it is just a part of who I happen to be and if people around me feel uncomfortable that I can say the word "blind", then the problem is theirs and theirs alone. Hope this helpes as it is based on my own experiences and those of friends and colleagues of mine with a wide range of disabilities and attitudes towards them. -- Jim ------------------------------ James A. Rebman University of Colorado, Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science Technology - Enhanced Learning Laboratory mailto:James.Rebman@Colorado.EDU "To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan... believe... act!" Alfred A. Montapert
Received on Tuesday, 29 September 1998 18:27:53 UTC