Reply To: “The Boy who Sees without Eyes” (Year 1 Thur.)

[admin]

You know, there is a positive language for talking about people with disability.

Rule 1 is use the person first, so instead saying e.g. “an impaired man”, say “man with impairment”, or instead saying “wheelchair bound woman”, say “a woman who is using a wheelchair”.
Rule 2 – do not say “he suffers from”, “she is afflicted/stricken with”, “they are victims of”. Instead use “have”, “experience”, or “live with”.
Rule 3 – avoid referring to a person without an impairment as “normal”, “able-bodied” or “healthy”. Use “non-disabled” or “a person without an impairment” instead.
Rule 4 – do not refer to people with impairments as “the disabled”, “the mentally disturbed.”
Of course, there are some exceptions.

Therefore, you should have said: “he doesn’t feel like a person with disability”.