In the past 15 years or so, a major change in U.S. policy with respect to citizens with disabilities has occurred. Between 1968 and 1980, Congress passed a series of laws aimed at enhancing the quality of life for disabled Americans through various measures, including the removal of architectural barriers, the improvement of educational opportunities for disabled children and the encouragement of self-help organizations for people with disabilities.

This disability legislation is based on familiar civil rights principles such as equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, integration, free choice and self-help, to name a few. The main issue linking all these principles is the concept of access--to education, to employment, to public facilities and services, to transportation, to housing and to other resources needed by disabled people to more fully realize their rights as citizens. Architectural barriers compromise access. They are seen in this context as obstacles that limit opportunity, promote discrimination, prevent integration, restrict choice and frustrate self-help.

Sensitive Portrayals
Because of our ability to provide universal access by eliminating architectural barriers, design professionals are in a unique position to shape public image of people with disabilities. But we must first understand what is disability. And we must use words and images that create a straightforward, positive view of people with disabilities.

Following is a set of guidelines, prepared by the Research & Training Center on Independent Living (RTC/IL) at the University of Kansas, to help make better choices in terms of language and portrayal. These guidelines offer suggestions for appropriate ways to address or describe people with disabilities and explain the preferred terminology. They reflect input from more than 100 national disability organizations and have been reviewed and endorsed by media and disability experts throughout the country. Although opinions may differ on some terms, these guidelines represent the current consensus among disability organizations.

• Do not focus on a disability unless it is crucial to the matter at hand. Focus on issues that affect the quality of life for those individuals, such as accessible transportation, housing, affordable health care, employment opportunities and discrimination.
• Do not portray successful people with disabilities as super human. Portraying people with disabilities as superstars raises false expectations that all people with disabilities should achieve at this level.
• Do not sensationalize a disability by saying "afflicted with," "crippled with," "suffers from," "victim of" and so on. Instead, say "person who has multiple sclerosis" or "man who had polio."
• Do not use generic labels for disability groups, such as "the retarded" or "the deaf." Emphasize people not labels. Say "people with mental retardation" or "people who are deaf."
• Put people first, not their disability. Say "woman with arthritis," "children who are deaf," "people with disabilities." This places the focus on the individual, not the particular functional limitation.
• Emphasize abilities not limitations. Say "uses a wheelchair" rather than "confined to a wheelchair." Similarly, do not use emotional descriptors such as "unfortunate," "pitiful" and so forth.

Disability groups also strongly object to using euphemisms to describe disabilities. Blind advocates dislike "partially sighted" because it implies avoiding acceptance of blindness. Terms such as "handicapped," "mentally different," "physically inconvenienced" and "physically challenged" are considered condescending. They reinforce the idea that disabilities cannot be dealt with up front.

• Do not imply disease when discussing disabilities that result from a prior disease episode. People who had polio and experience aftereffects years later have a "post polio" disability. Do not imply disease with people whose disability has resulted from anatomical or physiological damage (e.g., person with spina bifida or cerebral palsy). Reference to disease associated with disability is acceptable only with chronic diseases, such as arthritis, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. People with disabilities should never be referred to as patients or cases unless their relationship with their doctor is under discussion.
• Show people with disabilities as active participants of society. Portraying persons with disabilities interacting with non-disabled people in social and work environments helps break down barriers and open lines of communication.

Listed below are a sampling of preferred words that reflect a positive attitude in portraying disabilities.

• Disability: General term used for a functional limitation that interferes with a person's ability to walk, lift, hear or learn. It may refer to a physical, sensory or mental condition. Use as descriptive noun or adjective, such as "persons who are mentally and physically disabled" or "man with a disability." Impairment refers to loss or abnormality of an organ mechanism, which may result in disability.
• Blind: Describes a condition in which a person has loss of vision for ordinary life purposes. "Visually impaired" is the generic term preferred by some individuals to refer to all degrees of vision loss. Use "boy who is blind," or "girl who is visually impaired."
• Deaf: Deafness refers to a profound degree of hearing loss that prevents understanding speech through the ear. "Hearing impaired" is the generic term preferred by some individuals to indicate any degree of hearing loss--from mild to profound. Use "woman who is deaf," "boy who is hard of hearing" or "people who are hearing-impaired."
• Developmental disability: This is any mental and/or physical disability that has an onset before age 22 and may continue indefinitely. It can limit major life activities. Terms includes individuals with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy (and other seizure disorders), sensory impairments, congenital disabilities, traumatic accidents, or conditions caused by disease (polio, muscular dystrophy, etc.)
• Handicap: Not a syndrome or disability, this term describes a condition or barrier imposed by society, the environment or by one's own self. Handicap can be used when citing laws and situations but should not be used when describing a disability. Say "the stairs are a handicap for her."
• Learning disability: Describes a permanent condition that affects the way individuals with average or above-average intelligence take in, retain and express information. Some groups prefer "specific learning disability" because it emphasizes that only certain learning processes are affected. Do not say "slow learner," or "retarded." Use "has a learning disability."
• Mental disability: The Federal Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) lists four categories under mental disability: psychiatric disability, retardation, learning disability and (physical) head trauma. Use these four terms for specific instances; otherwise, "mental disability" or "cognitive impairment" is acceptable.
• Mental illness: Psychotic, schizophrenic, neurotic and other specific terms should be used only in proper context and checked carefully for medical and legal accuracy. Acceptable terms are "people with emotional disorders," "psychiatric illness," "mental problems" or "mental disabilities."
• Small/short stature: Do not refer to people under four feet, 10 inches tall as "dwarfs" or "midgets." Use "person of small (or short) stature." Dwarfism is an accepted medical term, but it should not be used as general terminology.
• Special: Describes that which is different or uncommon about any person. Do not use to describe persons with disabilities (except when citing laws or regulations).
• Speech disorder: A condition in which a person has limited or difficult speech patterns. Use "she who has a speech disorder." For a person with no verbal speech capability, use "woman without speech." Do not use "mute" or "dumb."
• Spinal cord injury: Describes a condition in which there has been permanent damage to the spinal cord. "Quadriplegia" denotes substantial or total loss of function on all four extremities. "Paraplegia" refers to substantial or total loss of function in the lower part of the body only. Say "man with paraplegia" or "woman who is paralyzed."

To make a place accessible, it takes more than just removing architectural barriers. Attention must be focused on the way in which disabilities, whether mental or physical, are understood. By applying the appropriate knowledge and language in addressing disability, it heightens the designer's sense of social responsibility. I think this is an important step toward designing for people with disabilities--before removing the stairs and replacing the ramp.

Related Articles » Good Design Is Good Customer Service » How Interior Design Improves Productivity » A New Experience for Home Offices » Design team creates new statement in a familiar place. » Art Deco Echo » What Does a Designer Actually Do? » Eco Design Matters: What's Green? » No More Great American Lunch Hours » Design for Disability » Understanding Disabilities