# Ableism in Language ## Source: Lydia X.Z. Brown Transcribed from: https://impactnw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ableism-in-Language.pdf Transcribed by: Infinidoge ### Barren Refers to people who are infertile. Carries sexist connotations as well as abelist ones. ### Blind to `___` / turn a blind eye to `___` / blinded by \[ignorance/bigotry/etc.\] Refers to Blind, low-vision, or sight-limited people ### Bound to a wheelchair (wheelchair bound) Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities ### Crazy Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities ### Cretin Refers to people with intellectual disabilities ### Cripple/Crippled (by `___`) Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. ### Daft Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Deaf-Mute Refers to Deaf or hard of hearing people. ### Deaf to `___` / Turn a deaf ear to `___` / etc. Refers to Deaf or hard of hearing people. ### Derp (also herp-derp and variations) Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. ### Diffability Can refer to any person with a disability, and is usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying "disability" or "disabled" ### Differently abled or different abilities Can refer to any person with a disability, and is usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying "disability" or "disabled." ### Dumb Refers to Deaf or hard of hearing people, people with speech-related disabilities, or people with linguistic or communication disorders or disabilities. ### Feeble-Minded Refers to people with mental, psychiatric, intellectual, or developmental disabilities. ### Handicap(ped) Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities, and is usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying "disability" or "disabled". ### Handicapable Usually refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities, but can also mean any person with a disability. ### Harelip Refers to people with a cleft-lip palate or similar facial deformaties/cosmetic disabilities. ### Hearing-Impaired Refers to Deaf and hard of hearing people. ### Hermaphrodite Refers to people with intersex conditions, whether or not they were coercively assigned to a particular sex/gender, and whether or not they currently identify with a binary gender. ### Idiot(ic) Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. ### Imbecile Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. ### Insane or Insanity Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Invalid (as a noun, as in "my neighbor is an invalid and never goes outside") Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities or chronic health conditions ### Lame Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. ### Loony/Loony Bin Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Lunatic Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Madhouse/Mad/Madman Refers to an institution housing people with mental or psychiatric disabilities ### Manic Refers to someone with bipolar (used to be called manic depression). ### Maniac Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Mental/Mental Case Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Mental Defective Refers to people with mental, psychiatric, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities. ### Midget Refers to little people or people with small stature or a form of dwarfism ### Mongoloid Refers to people with intellectual disabilities and specifically Down Syndrome. Derives from a double-whammy of racism AND ableism, from the belief that people with Down Syndrome look like people from Mongolia ### Morbidly obese (or just obese) Refers to fat people/people of size. It's okay to use the word "fat". ### Moron(ic) Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. ### Nuts Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Psycho Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Psychopath(ic) Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Psycho(tic) Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. ### Retard(ed)/\[anything\]-tard (examples: libtard, fucktard, etc.) Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. ### \[you belong on the\] Short-bus/that's short-bus material/etc. Refers to people with intellectual, learning, or other mental disabilities. ### Simpleton Refers to people with intellectual disabilities. ### Spaz(zed) Refers to people with cerebral palsy or similar neurological disabilities. ### Specially Abled Can refer to any person with a disability. ### Special needs Usually refers to people with learning, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, but can mean any person with a disability. Usually a euphemistic phrase to avoid saying "disability" or "disabled". ### Stupid Refers to people with intellectual disabilities (i.e. "in a stupor"). ### Suffers from `___` Can refer to any person with a disability. ### Wacko/Whacko Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. > The term "impairment" is sometimes acceptable and sometimes not. > Blind, low-vision, and limited-sight people generally find "visual impairment" or "vision impairment" offensive. > Likewise, Deaf and hard-of-hearing people generally find "hearing impairment" offensive. > Other disability communities use the word commonly, as in "learning impairment", "cognitive impairment", or "functional impairment". > Your mileage may vary. ## Other Examples Use of a disability term to describe anything not related to a person with that disability (e.g. "that presentation was all over the place. Totally schizophrenic", "Ugh, I can't be around other humans today. I'm so autistic", "the weather today has been totally biopolar!") ## Non-ableist language: Always respect an individual person's preference for identifying or describing themself, even if that is not what the majority in a community prefers. Again, as above, not every person with every disability is personally upset or hurt by every term on this list, even ones that reference their specific disability. That's why this list is meant as a learning/awareness/consciousness tool, not a litmus test or a censorship guide. **Instead of an ableist word or phrase, perhaps you actually meant to say...** (More invective replacements that use profanity/swears are included at the very bottom in a separate list.) > (Editors Note: Said list did not seem to be included in the PDF.) - Asinine - Bad - Bleak - Boring - Bullish - Callous - Careless - Confusing - Contemptible - Coward - Crappy - Dense - Devoid of `___` - Disgusting - Dull - Enraged - Evil - Extremist - Furious - Gross - Horrible - Ignoramus - Ignorant - Impolite - Inane - Incomprehensible - Inconsiderate - Inconsistent - Infuriating - Insensible - Insipid - Irrational - Jerk - Lacking in `___` - Livid - Mean - Nasty - Nefarious - Nonsense - Nonsensical - Obtuse - Outrageous - Overwrought - Paradoxical - Pathetic - Petulant - Pissant - Putrid - Rage-inducing - Reckless - Ridiculous - Rude - Scornful - Self-contradictory - Shameful - Solipsistic - Spurious - Terrible - Tyrannical - Unbelievable - Unconscionable - Unheard of - Uninspired - Unoriginal - Unthinkable - Unthinking - Vapid - Vile - Vomit-inducing - Without any `___` whatsoever - Wretched ### For describing people with disabilities/disabled people in general: - Disabled - Has a disability - With a disability - With a chronic health condition - Has a chronic health condition - Neuroatypical - Neurodivergent ### For describing people on the autism spectrum: - Person/people on the autism/autistic spectrum - Autistic person/people - Person/people with autism - Aspie/Autie (note -- this term is often only really used by people who claim it, not by many politically autistic people) ### For describing people with intellectual disabilities: - With an intellectual disability - Has an intellectual disability - With a intellectual disability - Has a intellectual disability ### For describing people with sensory disabilities: - Blind - Low vision - Deaf - Hard of hearing - DeafBlind - DeafDisabled ### For describing people with physical or mobility disabilities: - With a physical disability - With a mobility disability - Uses a wheelchair - In a wheelchair - Uses crutches - Uses a cane - Uses a walker - Has/With \[specific condition here\]