Transcript Language

Language
The difference between the almost-right word &
the right word is…the difference between the
lightning bug and the lightning.
—Mark Twain
Person-First Language
It’s all about respect and dignity,
not political correctness!
—Kathie Snow
Person-First Language
 Puts the person before the disability
 Describes what a person has, not who a person is
 Reflects good manners, not “political correctness”
 Was started by individuals who said “We are not our
disabilities!”
—Kathie Snow
Words and Phrases
What to say, and what to avoid
Words and Phrases
Things to Avoid
Appropriate Alternatives
 Handicapped
 Accessible
 Disabled, crippled, invalid,
 Person with a disability
gimp
 Refer to Kathie Snow
 Special Needs
 Intellectual Disability
 Mental Retardation
Words and Phrases
Things to Avoid
Appropriate Alternatives
 Fits
 Seizures, Epilepsy
 Wheelchair bound
 Uses a wheelchair
 Confined to a wheelchair
 Wheelchair user
 Electric Chair
 Power Chair
 Birth Defect
 Born with
Words and Phrases
Things to Avoid
Appropriate Alternatives
 Victim or Afflicted with
 Person who has or Person
with
 Normal
 Non-disabled, able-bodied
How am I supposed to know?
 Sandy
and
Sarah
http://www.thesarahjanestory.com/photos/most_recent02.html
If your faith had been stronger…
And other things not to say
—Kathie Sheetz, That All MayWorship, 1997
Think before you speak…
 “If your faith had been stronger, you would have been healed
long ago.”
 “Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”
 “I’ll pray for you.”
 “God must have had a reason for this tragedy happening to you
and your family. But, God never gives us more than we can
bear.”
Asking Questions
And getting answers
Consider this…
 “Listen to the straight questions of children about my chair.
They’re great! They want to know what happened to me,
how fast I can go in the chair, how it works, what I can do
with it, and whether I hurt. They’re into real questions!
Adults at the church coffee hour clam up, look the other way,
act embarrassed, and try to shoo the children away.”
—That All MayWorship
Consider this…
 “I’d much rather have someone deal with me directly, maybe
even say the wrong thing, than to say nothing at all. Words I
can handle. Being ignored is tough!”
—That All MayWorship