[nabs-l] Disability Language

Sun Jul 26 01:18:01 UTC 2015

I know a music therapist who I volunteer under, and she sets a great
example of this.  I don't think she shies away from talking about her
blindness at all, especially as her primary population is blind
children and children with multiple disabilities.  Years ago when I
saw her for braille music lessons that was very helpful to me.  She
was someone I could go to for things outside of music because I could
relate to her, and at the time she was the only blind adult my family
and I knew.  As I got older and started volunteering with her, I saw
how important it was to be attentive to the needs and wants of
different families she worked with.  While one client might readily
identify themselves as blind, and their parents as well, another would
say "visually impaired."  She was always very perceptive and
respectful of individual choices in terminology, but never shied away
from calling herself a blind person in conversation from what I
observed.  I volunteered under her for several hours at a time once a
month for four years, and still do so when I have a break that lines
up with her sessions.

I very much so think that the human services professions leave a lot
to be desired for those of us with disabilities who are aspiring
practitioners.  That umbrella of professions from what I've observed
just hasn't caught up with the notion of the helpees being the helpers
alongside the able-bodied professionals yet.  There is only one way
that we're going to make this lapse in understanding better, and that
is if we educate them through our example.  I personally think that
anyone working in a disability field needs to seriously take time to
learn what the daily minute details of life are like for the people
they serve so that situations where the professional has no clue what
is really best for their client can be avoided.  I also think that
agencies across the subfields of human services won't think they have
the time, money, or reason to require their employees to work that
hard to understand their clientelle.  The best way we can change the
status quo is if we get in there and show them how to approach this
and situations like it.  It is disrespectful to assume that everyone
who can't hear wants to be called "hearing impaired," or "a person who
is deaf."  Arielle's example about Autism, and what some feel about
blindness, are further examples that discredit the idea that first
person language is the only way to go.

I don't know about other human services students, but I've been taught
that therapy is all about trying creative solutions to best suit the
needs of the individual.  This one-size-fits-all approach to
referencing disabilities isn't current, as I'm sure the article
Arielle posted in the beginning and others attest.  Another crucial
part of therapy, no matter what type, is establishing rapport and a
therapeutic connection with clients.  I want the kids I will work with
to ask me questions about their disabilities or my own so that they
can come to a better understanding of myself.  I feel more comfortable
and less stuffy when I'm referred to as "a blind person," and perhaps
that might do a client of mine some good in the future.  If they see a
confident and productive adult who is comfortable in their own skin
they'll be more likely to ask questions and share thoughts on their
own disability or condition.  It happened with me and the music
therapist I mentioned earlier, and I doubt that was a rare case.

On 7/25/15, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi all. We all know that historically the blindness professions have
> often been out of touch with what blind people actually want. I would
> argue that what a "professional" thinks we should say is far less
> important than what our clients want to be called. After all, isn't
> professionalism, in the end, about pleasing and respecting the
> customer? As others have mentioned, I am aware that many (though not
> all) Deaf people call themselves Deaf with a capital D. So, that's the
> term I'll use unless a specific deaf individual prefers different
> terms. To be an empowering professional service provider, I think it
> is so critically important to research and understand the preferences
> of the communities you are serving. After all, that's what we
> rightfully expect out of blindness professionals who serve us.
> Best, Arielle
>
> On 7/25/15, Justin Harford via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 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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>>>>
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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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>>
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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!"