TORONTO -- Canadians need to get more comfortable with using the term 鈥渄isabled people鈥 to describe those who wish to be called that, advocates say.
Over the past 10 to 15 years, disability advocates have embraced the term 鈥渄isabled person鈥 to describe members of their community instead of 鈥減eople with disabilities鈥 -- the go-to descriptor used since the 1960s.
And this is because they say the first one better centres their disability as part of their identity.
鈥淚 find that when allies or representative of disabled people are speaking about disability, they tend to be pretty cagey around the word 鈥榙isabled,鈥欌 said Mads Clement, a Metis-Anishinaabe non-binary disability advocate. 鈥淲hen I hear 鈥榩erson with a disability鈥 or god forbid 鈥榙ifferently-abled鈥... it has been from an ally.鈥
During their time as an inclusion advocate at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., Clement, who has autism, said, 鈥渆veryone I鈥檝e met through there, almost unanimously, prefers 鈥榙isabled person.鈥欌
But they told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview that well-meaning non-disabled people, in general, still have a lot of catching up to do.
鈥淧eople think that 鈥榙isabled鈥 is a bad word because disability has historically been associated with bad things before we learned how to care properly for disabled people.鈥
In the 1960s, psychologists and disability civil rights activists wanted to push back against , seeking to reclaim their stolen dignity and personhood.
鈥淧eople with disabilities鈥 is an example of 鈥減eople-first language,鈥 which puts the person before the diagnosis -- describing what a person has rather than what a person is. , organizations in Canada, like many other countries, have opted for this type of language to discuss not only those with disabilities but eventually those with AIDS, asthma, diabetes and other conditions.
But many in the disabled community told CTVNews.ca they are pivoting back to 鈥渋dentify-first language.鈥
鈥淒isability is and does often become a huge part of who you are. So separating it as 鈥榩ersons with disabilities鈥 is like sort of taking away from the disabled experience in a way,鈥 Clement explained.
This was echoed in past CTVNews.ca interviews with the co-founder of the Disability Justice Network of Ontario Sarah Jama, author and disability activist Amanda Leduc, and Regina-based disability activist John Loeppky.
They鈥檝e all expressed their strong preferences for calling themselves 鈥渄isabled people鈥 and urged everyone to ask others what their own preferences are, since so many now want their disability to be front-and-centre.
They say they despise terms such as 鈥渄ifferently-abled鈥 or non-descript words such as as 鈥渄iversibility鈥 -- a mashup of disability and diversity.
鈥淧ersonally, I鈥檝e hit my own wall with euphemism with disabilities or cute ways to refer to disabilities,鈥 Jewelles Smith, the government relations co-ordinator for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. 鈥淚鈥檓 disabled and society is such that there are many things that are challenging.鈥
Clement agreed. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 need to be told my disability is actually a superpower,鈥 they said. 鈥淚 am an adult who is concretely impacted by an ableist society. What鈥檚 my superpower? Having a meltdown on the train because it鈥檚 too loud?鈥
But Smith, who prefers the term 鈥榙isabled person鈥 for herself, acknowledged that referring to people 鈥渨ith a disability鈥 is still commonly used and isn鈥檛 necessarily offensive to some disabled folks.
GOV'T RECOMMENDS 'PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES'
The Government of Canada鈥檚 鈥溾 resource page doesn鈥檛 specifically weigh in on the term 鈥渄isabled people,鈥 but urges the use of the term 鈥減eople with disabilities鈥 over terms such as 鈥渢he disabled.鈥
The page also explains that 鈥渁 disability is a functional limitation or restriction of an individual鈥檚 ability to perform an activity. The word 鈥榙isabled鈥 is an adjective, not a noun. People are not conditions.鈥
In an email to CTVNews.ca, Shelley Fletcher, executive director of People First of Canada, a national organization representing people with intellectual disabilities, said, 鈥渨e would mostly use either the phrase 鈥榩erson with a disability鈥 or 鈥榩eople with disabilities.鈥欌
Echoing this preference was Krista Carr, executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada, a family-based association also helping people with intellectual disabilities. She told CTVNews.ca via email on Tuesday that most national disability organizations use 鈥減eople with a disability.鈥
But both of them had caveats.
鈥淟anguage evolves over time,鈥 said Carr, who stressed she could only speak for Inclusion Canada. She fully appreciates and respects how the term 鈥渄isabled person鈥 is being more frequently used in some circles, with Fletcher similarly acknowledging that other 鈥渄isability organizations may have their own preferences.鈥
And this change in disabled peoples鈥 preferences is definitely being noticed by Frank Smith, the national co-ordinator for the Ottawa-based advocacy group National Educational Association of Disabled Students.
鈥淓very individual who has a disability might have their own strong reasons for one or the other,鈥 he told CTVNews.ca in an email on Tuesday. In his own group鈥檚 public statements, Smith said they alternate 鈥渂etween 鈥榙isabled person鈥 and 鈥榩erson with a disability;鈥 and 鈥榙isabled student鈥 and 鈥榮tudent with a disability鈥 for variety in the language.鈥
Since 1986, Smith鈥檚 group has been advocating full access to education and employment for post-secondary students with disabilities. And he explained that for years, person-first language ensured everyone saw that a disability didn鈥檛 limit a person鈥檚 place in society.
But Smith said the pivot back to 鈥渄isabled people鈥 is meant to 鈥渆mphasize that the disability is something to be proud of.鈥 And he fully supports 鈥渕any different identities that they [the disabled community] bring to the educational, employment and daily life experiences.鈥
He attributes this change to progressives and 鈥渢hose in critical disability studies at universities,鈥 referring to the field which examines how institutions, cities or societies 'dis-able' people systemically and socially.
BEING SPECIFIC, RESPECTING PEOPLE鈥橲 PREFERENCE IS BEST
鈥淪ometimes depending on the type of disability, there can be a lot of linguistic gymnastics around it,鈥 longtime disability advocate Seanna Takacs told CTVNews.ca over the phone. 鈥淪o sometimes people just want to say 鈥榥o, I do have a disability and it鈥檚 okay to be identified in that sort of way.鈥
While Takacs鈥 own preference is for people-first language, she said there may be a generational gap for people in or advocating for disabled communities.
鈥淭here still needs to be some trappings for privacy for some folks my age,鈥 she said, and this may play into people鈥檚 acceptance of the use of 鈥渄isabled person.鈥 But Takacs said younger generations are demanding 鈥渨hy can鈥檛 I be upfront about that?鈥
However, Takacs, a faculty member in the accessibility services department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, B.C., said person-first language can help in other regards.
She works with students potentially wrestling with their own identity issues surrounding disability or deciding whether to even disclose a disability or accessibility need to one of their professors. So person-first language is more welcoming to those still figuring out who they are.
鈥淏ut I think overall the guiding principle is that people don鈥檛 want to be identified only as someone who has a disability,鈥 said Takacs, the co-chair of Accessibility and Inclusion Community of Practice for the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.
鈥淲e want to be identified as people who have thoughts and opinions; and a place in the community.鈥
Everyone CTVNews.ca spoke to stressed that language specificity is always the best approach.
Smith explained that when well-meaning people on university campuses, for example, shy away from using the word 鈥渄isabled鈥 it can leave disabled people themselves confused.
Smith used the example of some campuses introducing a vaguely-named 鈥榓ccess centre,鈥 and joked: 鈥淵ou wonder 鈥榠s that where I get my passport renewed? I just want my disability needs met.鈥
Hanan Hazime, a Lebanese-Canadian artist and educator, who provides spaces for folks with disabilities, uses the "disabled person" for herself and cares more about whether they're given proper accommodations or access to resources.
"Instead of arguing over semantics and the politically correct usage of terms, I would prefer folks to actually go out and advocate for disabled people to attain equal rights and better accessibility," she told CTVNews.ca in an email. "Overall, if folks aren鈥檛 intentionally being offensive and are treating me with respect, I am okay with both people-first language and identity-first language."
Smith feels the term 鈥渄isabled鈥 is a way for people with varying needs and disabilities to rally together, but echoed Hazime that it鈥檚 not an excuse for people not to address their specific needs.
People First of Canada鈥檚 communication director, Catherine Rodgers, agreed and gave the example of people saying: 鈥渄isabled people need more ramps at polling stations,鈥 when they should be saying 鈥減eople with physical disabilities need more ramps at polling stations.鈥
The first choice assumed people with disabilities need 鈥渢he exact same things鈥 and didn鈥檛 take into account those who need braille ballots, support staff to help them vote or plain language materials. If people mean to refer to those with wheelchairs, they should so outright.
But Rodgers, who prefers person-first language, supported the use of term 鈥渄isabled people,鈥 when speaking broadly.
And this ongoing fight for specificity and growing use of the term 鈥渄isabled persons鈥 has been encouraging for Takacs, whose generation tended to deal with disabilities privately.
鈥淭he whole conversation about accessibility and identity really changes and that鈥檚 lovely to see.鈥
Edited by CTVNews.ca Producer Sonja Puzic
