Who knew that as an individual with a disability, itโs our responsibility, to guide non-disabled people as to our choice of language to use about ourselves?ย
I knew there were going to be a lot of adjustments when I became chronically ill but I really didnโt anticipate this one!ย
The dehumanisation of the disabled has been, and continues to be, a huge issue and so choosing the type of language we want to be referred to by is a reminder to the outside world that we are still real people.ย
As shocking as it is, itโs still all too common to hear people saying things like โthe disabledโ, or referring to someone as โa wheelchairโ. This is an attempt to separate usย in society so non-disabled people donโt have to think about our wants, needs, rights or feelings.ย
So itโs time to take control of the narrative and dictate whether you want to be spoken of in person first or identity first language.ย
Letโs dive into exactly what these actually mean.ย
First up โ person first language. This is whatโs used by the majority of government and non-government institutions and is the general idea that a personโs disability shouldnโt be unnecessarily focused on, and we should put the person before their disability.ย
In practice, an example of this would be saying โa person with a disability.โย
Who tends to prefer person first language?ย
Thereโs no hard and fast rule but usually itโs people who feel that theyโre seen in society as just their disability but they want to remind people of all the other things that make them up as an individual as well.ย
Now for identity first language. The focus of this is claiming your disability as something that youโre proud of! Loud and proud baby! For people who prefer identity first language you shouldnโt be afraid to call them disabled because they donโt see it as a bad thing.ย
In practice the focus of this is to take away th fear of acknowledging someones disability.ย
In short, the most important thing to remember is that as a person with a disability, thereโs no right or wrong here. Itโs purely down to your personal preference!ย
And if youโre non-disabled, and still confused about which to use, just ask the individual what they would prefer. Itโs a sign of respect so donโt be scared. We donโt bite, I promise!ย
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