Bryan,
In very basic terms, disabled people is generally used by people
who are using the social model of disability whereas people with
disabilities would suggest the medical model. I did hear the other
day that apparently 'people with disabilities' is still quite widely
used in the south of England (not sure of the truth behind this)
however as a wheelchair user I would certainly feel far more positive
about someone who referred to me as a disabled person rather
than a person with a disability, of course it would be even better
from my point of view if people simply called me Anna :-)
Terminology is always a minefield but I have sometimes found it
better to explain it like this:
a black people are black people not 'people with black skin'
gay people are gay people not 'people with a different sexuality'
disabled people are disabled people not 'people with a disability'
Hope this helps...
Anna Charles - Jones
Project Assistant
Centre for the Promotion of Social Inclusion
Manchester Metopolitan University
Tel: 0161 247 3041
|