Finding the right words

The language we use about disability is an important way of influencing our own and society’s attitudes. The list below is intended to help you and it reflects the views of disabled people themselves and in particular young wheelchair users.

As you will see, the words on the left are passive, “victim” words (handicapped, for example, has its roots in the idea of asking for charity, “cap in hand”), whereas the words on the right respect disabled people as active individuals with control over their own lives.

Avoid using	Use Instead
General
Handicapped person/ child	Disabled person/ child
The disabled	Disabled people/ children
Afflicted by, suffers from, a victim of, has a disease	Has the condition, has an impairment, has Cerebral Palsy/Spina Bifida
Cripple, invalid, sufferer	Disabled person/ child
Confined to a wheelchair, wheelchair bound	A wheelchair-user
Spastic	Has Cerebral Palsy
Special needs	Specific needs
Integration, integrate	Inclusion, include i.e. inclusion in mainstream school
Disabled toilets	Accessible toilets
Whizz-Kidz specific
Whizz-kids, WhizzKidz, Whiz-Kidz	Whizz-Kidz
Children with disabilities	Disabled children
Mobility aid/ s	Wheelchairs and tricycles or mobility equipment
Chair	Wheelchair
Electric wheelchair	Powered wheelchair

Whizz-Kidz terminology

Correct spellings for the following (please note capitals, hyphens etc.):

Whizz-Kidz, ‘whizz kids’ (beneficiaries of Whizz-Kidz)

Disabled children or children with disabilities?

“Disabled children” (or people) is preferred because it acknowledges that the biggest difficulty for disabled people lies in society’s attitudes i.e. that it is society that is disabling the person or child, whereas “children with disabilities” can be seen to place the problem solely with the individual.

Specific Needs or Special Needs

We all have the same needs – to eat, to drink etc. Disabled people are disadvantaged if their needs are not met, the same as you would be. There is nothing ‘special’ about needing Braille, or needing to use a wheelchair to get around. “Special needs” is still widely used and considered acceptable. However, an alternative is “specific needs” (or more formally “access requirements”).