Creator: Humber College
Date Updated: March 28, 2024
Overview
It is important to follow style guides in media. This guide offers an array of options for talking about disabilities.
The information is summarized from the Inclusive Language in A Canadian Style Guide.
Quick Facts
The style guide recommends the following:
- Do not refer to a person’s disability unless it is relevant to the story.
- Use people-first language: «people with blindness,» «an individual with low vision,” etc.
- Consequently, avoid using adjectives as nouns after an article: «the disabled» or «a blind person.” Instead, use «people with disabilities» or «a person who is blind».
- Avoid terms like «normal,» «not normal,» or «abnormal» when applied to people. The word «typical» should be used to describe specific abilities: «typical vision,» «typical behaviour,» etc.
- Avoid using terms like «inspirational,» «brave,» or «courageous» when describing people with disabilities. This implies that their standard may be lower than what we have for the rest of society.
- Instead of using the term «handicapped» or «crippled,» use terms like «disabled,» or in the case of a specific disability, use the name of that disability instead.
The information on this page is summarized from the Inclusive Language in A Canadian Style Guide.
References
Karapita, M., Jones, C., Odette, F., Willis, H., & Broadcasting Accessibility Fund Board of Directors (Eds.). (2017). Inclusive Language in A Canadian Style Guide. Humber College.https://www.humber.ca/makingaccessiblemedia/modules/01/transript/Inclusive_Language_Guide_Aug2019.pdf
Multiple authors. (2024, March 11). People-first language. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People-first_language