Disability is Useful

Disability is a word that will sometimes bring heated discussion and violent rebuttals. Some think the term should be avoided and others think you should claim it. I am in favor of the latter. A disability is a set of physical, behavioral, or both physical and behavioral characteristics that are devalued by society. This is not to be confused with an impairment, which is a restriction in the ability to perform some task, which may or may not have societal implications. Disability is socially constructed. For example, if there were no steps, lots of low cupboards in buildings and curb ramps at every corner, etc., a wheelchair user would not be disabled. They would simply have impairment in their ability to walk.

Society disables people from doing specific tasks. Disability is not a word describing the complete absence of ability. Disability simply indicates that certain abilities have been taken away by the larger culture in which a specific person resides. If we acknowledge that, then as a society we can work toward giving back these abilities to the citizens receiving this imposed violation. However, just because someone claims the word disability, does not mean that you should refer to them as a “person with a disability.”

People first language tends to separate people from their disabilities, and if we do that a terrible disservice is being done to the disabled individual. Disability affects the ability to relate to the world on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. Disability should not be separate or unseen. A person is more than their disability, and society should be aware of this and that is where advocacy work should lead, not to restructuring terminology, but to addressing value structures on a sociologic level.

I like the word disability in comparison to Handicap, Differently-Abled, DiverseAbility, or other such euphemisms that distract people from the issue at hand. I encourage anyone reading this to stop using people first language and be clear, honest, caring, and very blunt about any message you communicate. As an Autistic person, I function much better when people pay attention to my issues than when they do not, and when I educate people as to why I claim specific language, they tend to see a greater depth of personality and I receive more humane treatment. Maybe you will too.