Disability or Inability (Un-ability?)
This month marks national Autism Awareness month in the United States. I can think of no better time to focus on inclusive writing and how we view disability through written (and spoken) words.
As an editor, a key facet of my work is keeping up to date with evolution in language and writing and how this impacts diversity. I do some measure of sensitivity reading for my clients in this regard, pointing out words and phrases that we may not realize their impact. While some may misconstrue sensitivity reading (and editing) as political correctness, it actually has nothing to do with it. But, rather has to do with kindness, and treating our readers with dignity.
Although some disabilities may not be visible to us, the US Census Bureau estimates that about 1 in 4 Americans live with some sort of disability. Merriam-Webster defines disability as “a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that impairs, interferes with, or limits a person’s ability to engage in certain tasks or actions or participate in typical daily activities and interactions.”
While the question of degree of impairment is an individual one, the problem arises when non-disabled persons apply blanket statements when writing about disability. Disability identity is still non-unanimous even within the disabled community with some preferring people-first language e.g. a person with autism versus an autistic person or a person who is blind/visually impaired versus a blind person. And others preferring to be identified by their disability—their rationale being, there is no ‘them’ without their disability. Although The National Center on Disability and Journalism recommends people-first language unless where specified, the ongoing consensus seems to recognize the fluidity of writing about disability and as such recommends that one asks individuals how they would prefer to be written about where possible.
To bring this closer, think about the statement “X is confined to a wheelchair or Y is wheelchair bound.” While the implication of this is someone conveying that X and Y are not able to walk, the fact of the matter is that the wheelchair actually affords them the freedom of ambulation; the means to move about and do many of the same things that non-wheel chair users do.
I once heard a wheel chair user say, “I am not bound or tied down to this wheel chair, I can move myself in and out of it at will, the only thing I am not able to do is to get up and walk.”
Some of the other concepts to remember is that having a disability does not always equate to not being independent. While some forms of disability cause severe impairment making it so that such persons need high levels of care, this is not something that cuts across all people with disabilities.
The final aspect to consider is when one uses words associated with disabilities in a derogatory manner—the “Are you crazy/retarded?” “Are you blind/deaf?” statements and other language used in casual speaking that sometimes finds their way into our writing.
I am still learning a lot here myself because as you might imagine, as a non-disabled person, I also tend to mis-speak at times. But, when I find myself doing it, the knowledge I’ve gained in this area helps me course-correct.
Our collective wish as human beings is to live in kinder world where everyone is valued and respected. Disability is one of those faces of diversity that is often ignored in our work toward a more equal world.
As writers, we need to continue to find the right words that don’t cause unintended harm.
May our words continually help bring about a more respect-ABLE world.
Resources and Readings
Here’s The National Center on Disability and Journalism’s style guide with about 200 commonly used words and terms when referring to disability: NCDJ Style Guide on Disability
For children’s book lovers among us, one of the ways that we can help erase the stigma around disability is by exposing children early to the fact that we are all differently abled. Here’s a list of children’s books about disability compiled by Caroline Bologna on Huffpost: Children’s books about disability
How are you helping move the cause forward through your writing? Please share your thoughts via email at editor@getfabediting.com
“Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.”
