A better word than "disabled" [closed]
I have recently completed a 'Lean' project on enhancing customer experience in a Hospice. Before submitting my report, I was taking a stock of the various signage at the hospital.
A few of them read as follows:
- Wheel-Chair-Area
- Disabled batch holders only
- Spastic Center
- Disabled people
Are there some commonly-identified-substitute words which would appear politically correct and does not emphasize on the impairment?
I am disabled and I suggest not using differently-abled; I really don't like the word. I recommend handicapped if you really don't want to use disabled.
EDIT: Also I think the government calls them 'handicap placards" or "disabled persons placards" (the blue placards that you hang in your car) anyway.
Be aware that many people with disabilities dislike jargony, euphemistic terms like "physically challenged" and "differently abled."
I don't really agree with everything here but it could be helpful.
People with disabilities dislike jargony, euphemistic terms like “physically challenged”, “differently-abled” and “disability.”
•Disabled people/the disabled: person with a disability or people with disabilities.
•Spastic Center: or Center for Cerebral Palsy
•Wheel-Chair-Area : I saw a signage in a Korean Hospital- "Enabling Logistics".
(wheel-chairs enable movement)
•Disabled batch holders only: If there's a batch color, use it. E.g. Blue badge holders only
It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I'm not crazy about using.” - Marlee Matlin
The term special needs is often used to reflect accommodations of various types.
Also the term accessibility is often used to focus on the actual field which requires modification to assist people with who may have special needs. It can be combined to reflect the actual adjustment as in accessibility enhanced (or enhancement), accessibility modified, or simply accessibility accommodations.
- Wheel-chair-Area
I think that mechanically-assisted-transportation area would work here
- Disabled batch [sic] holders only and Disabled People
Area reserved for certified differently-abled personnel