Updating the Communication Regarding People with Disabilities
From: Credo Reference (FSU community only)
Stories about people with physical disabilities aren't hard to find, and many of them manage to avoid the most egregious stereotypes about people whose hearing, sight or mobility don't fit within our definitions of what is normal.
More reporters seem to understand that people are not necessarily “confined to wheelchairs” or continually “suffer” from afflictions. They're less likely than in the past to refer to people with disabilities as “retarded,” “defective” or “abnormal.”
That's the good news, and it's a start.
The even better news is that some excellent journalism is being produced on disability issues. Since 2012, the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University has reviewed hundreds of disability-related stories by news organizations across the United States and beyond. Granted, these stories, submitted by individuals proud of their work and hoping to be honored in the center's annual reporting contest, represent what should be the cream of the crop. And for the most part, they are. They include exhaustive investigations into the treatment of those living with disabilities, delve deeply into the lives of individuals, question public policy and challenge conventional thinking. They are as good as reporting done anywhere on any subject.
But the contest, along with the center's steady monitoring of disability coverage by the news media, also reveals some fault lines that underscore how much work remains to be done.
- found in The Diversity Style Guide
Disable the Label: Communicating with and about People with Disabilities
Words have power! The words we use to describe people can either be uplifting and encouraging or degrading and dehumanizing. Words shape the attitudes and beliefs of society and influence our world. Brault (2008) reported that more than fifty million people in the United States have a disability. That translates to one out of every five people having a disability. People with disabilities constitute the largest minority group in the United States. It is the only minority group comprised of all genders, races, age groups, socioeconomic levels, and religions. This minority group is not exclusive; anyone can join this group at any time.
Historically, individuals with disabilities have been portrayed as weak individuals who are to be feared, ignored, pitied, assisted, or institutionalized. Society has had two distinct responses to individuals with disabilities: to protect and contain or to be charitable (Smart, 2009). These responses to individuals with disabilities have determined the language used to describe this group of people.
Similarly, the words used to describe individuals with disabilities have not been accurate or representative of the person. Previously, words such as retard, disabled, handicapped, schizophrenic, and crazy were acceptable terms used to depict individuals with disabilities. These old, inaccurate, and inappropriate descriptions perpetuate the negative stereotypes and attitudinal barriers toward individuals with disabilities. When described by medical diagnoses, we devalue and disrespect people as individuals. These outdated terms have led to beliefs that have been reinforced by legislative policy, society's language and treatment, and environmental and attitudinal barriers. In recent years, there has been a push to create legislative policy to protect the rights of and to provide more access for individuals with disabilities. While this has been a great move in the right direction, progress to address attitudinal barriers has been slow.
