[nabs-l] Disability Language

Sat Jul 25 22:18:42 UTC 2015

I share a similar experience, working here in the independent living movement. I always use the politically correct language when referring to other people, and when at professional functions, but I am always a blind person, not a person who is blind.

> On Jul 25, 2015, at 2:54 PM, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Personally, what Caitlin just said extends to me even as a student in
> a clinical field.  I may be corrected in the future, but if I don't
> see how a supervisor will have reason to correct me for identifying
> myself as long as I am professional and politically correct when
> referring to clients.  They can correct me all they want if I call a
> child I'm working with, "One of my blind kiddos," but if I'm saying,
> "As a blind person I..." and they call me out on it, I'm likely to
> explain why I prefer identity first language and liken it to Deaf with
> a capital D instead of hearing impaired, and other such examples.
> 
> I accept it is the right thing to do in clinical work, and want to set
> a good example for others I might meet as a professional, but that is
> separate from my personal beliefs and how I want to be
> treated/referred to.  You're right, you do have to separate personal
> from professional and if people take issue with what I call myself and
> not my clients, then that's them not separating the two, not I.
> 
>> On 7/25/15, Caitlin Best via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> I work for the army and the equal opportunity office for roughly 5 years, so
>> I had a great deal of death employees come into my office. Most deaf people
>> are very proud of their culture and their community and you don't even
>> consider themselves to have a disability. They do preferred to use a D – a D
>> to describe themselves. Also, using hearing impairment is very
>> disrespectful. Most preferred to use hard of hearing or simply death because
>> that is how they see themselves.
>> 
>> As for other disability language, I would just rolled with whatever the
>> person or people are comfortable with.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Jul 25, 2015, at 13:50, Karl Martin Adam via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Justin, the idea that you know better what someone should be called than
>>> they do themselves seems awfully patronizing.  Isn't that sort of idea
>>> that others know how we should live our lives better than we do a large
>>> part of what we in the NFB and other disability rights organizations spend
>>> our time fighting.  Also I happen to know that there are a lot of deaf
>>> people who consider themselves Deaf with a capital d and are very proud of
>>> their culture.  Calling them "persons with hearing impairments" or
>>> something similar is extremely disrespectful.
>>> 
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: justin williams via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Date sent: Sat, 25 Jul 2015 13:04:08 -0400
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Disability Language
>>> 
>>> While operating in the field, I am careful to set the best example for my
>>> consumer. Often times, consumers use names such as physically disabled, or
>>> deaf, or something such as that.  They use the terminology given to them
>>> by
>>> those who while well meaning, are not in touch with the day to day
>>> maneusha
>>> which goes along with having a disability.  I am careful to usualy stay in
>>> the professional guidelines unless doing so will cause undo stress.  I've
>>> noticed that when I use person first language, the consumer becomes more
>>> empowered and is more inclined to take control of their life.
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle
>>> Silverman via nabs-l
>>> Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2015 12:57 AM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Disability Language
>>> 
>>> Hi Kaiti and all. I read an article recently about disability language
>>> which
>>> was published in the journal American Psychologist and authored by Dana
>>> Dunn, a prominent disability psychologist. Basically, the article
>>> described
>>> how language preferences are changing. As others have pointed out, there
>>> is
>>> a lot of debate about whether to use person-first ("person who is blind")
>>> or
>>> identity-first ("blind person"). What Dr. Dunn recommends is that
>>> clinicians
>>> should simply ask clients what term they prefer and use those terms
>>> (honoring different clients with different terms, if necessary). So you
>>> would not automatically need to call your client a person with a
>>> disability
>>> unless he/she explicitly prefers that language. I have noticed that the
>>> vast
>>> majority of people I meet/exchange emails with who have autism want to be
>>> called "autistic people" and the only people I know who use the term
>>> "people
>>> with autism" are non-autistic people. So, I regularly use the term
>>> "autistic
>>> person" because that seems to be the majority preference for those who are
>>> actually part of that group. If a particular autistic person or family
>>> objects, then I will switch to their term of choice. I also use the term
>>> "blind person" to describe myself and others in the blindness community.
>>> When I talk to parents of blind children, I try to listen to their terms
>>> and
>>> follow their language (even if it's "visually impaired"). I think honoring
>>> language and building common language is a part of building rapport and
>>> trust with others.
>>> Arielle
>>> 
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>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton-Music Therapy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
> Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
> Division 2015-2016
> 
> "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
> 
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