I've been reading a lot of literature about terms to use as I needed
to back up the ones I wanted to use in my thesis. I use 'disabled
people' and 'non-disabled people' and sometimes describe people as
being diagnosed or self-defining as having an impairment in contrast
to people who have not been diagnosed or do not self-define as having
an impairment. Similar I might describe someone as self-defining as a
disabled person or a person with an impairment or not self-defining as
a disabled person or a person with an impairment. I guess this is
because I feel that I have impairments and because of how society is
structured this makes me a disabled person. My impairments are
diagnosed but even before some of these were confirmed I self-defined
as a person with impairments. This is how I understand the social
model of disability but I may well be wrong. Personally I describe
myself as a disabled person, because I have a hearing impairment, a
visual impairment and mobility impairments.
However, when I did my interviews people used wide ranging terms, even
when describing themselves and they all had reasons for using these. I
did come across some disabled people who preferred to call themselves
a person with a disability or an impairment, but others who called
themselves an impaired or disabled person. I came across visually
impaired people (the term I prefer) who used terms like 'the blind' or
'the disabled', I came across others who talked about having a 'sight
disability' or a 'visual impairment'. In term of those with SpLDs
some defined this as a specific learning disability or difficulty or
difference.
This isn't to say that some terms aren't generally more acceptable
than others, but it is difficult to find terms that everyone agrees
with. For example, in the UK the term handicapped is usually avoided,
but it is widespread in America. If anyone has a suggestions or
literature about this, I'd be interested and I'm sure others would
find it useful.
Yours,
Emma
On 20/07/2009, dawnalee8 <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I've never been a fan of the term "able-bodied" because then what do you
> call people that are not "able-bodied"?
>
> Cheers,
> Dawna Lee Rumball, PhD Student
> University of British Columbia, Vancouver
> Canada
>
>
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--
Emma Jane Rowlett (née Wright)
School of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Nottingham
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