I recently found myself in the middle of an intense inter-community debate regarding whether the term “disabled people” or “people with disabilities” should be used when speaking of people who have disabilities. I personally prefer to describe myself as a person with a disability (hard-of-hearing, to be exact), but there are many people within the disability community who object to the term and would describe themselves as disabled people. As that article highlights:

The description “disabled people” is preferred by people who follow the social model of disability, which prefers the term “impairment” to describe our conditions and argues that “disability” is caused by barriers put in place by society to prevent people with impairments accessing society “normally.’”

This is certainly true, but the barriers society has put in place regarding disability are often not fully realized by most people. I’ve lost count of how many times someone claims they “don’t need a microphone,” ignoring hard-of-hearing folks who won’t be able to hear without a microphone no matter how loudly the speaker projects. Unfortunately, society as a whole still views disability as a negative thing. The AMA Manual of Style combats such negativity by emphasizing “people-first” language. The style guide’s section on inclusive language advises writers to “avoid labeling (and thus equating) people with their disabilities or diseases (eg, the blind, schizophrenics, epileptics). Instead, put the person first.” In describing myself as a person with a disability, rather than a disabled person, I avoid defining myself solely by my hearing loss (not to mention the negative connotations that society has given the term “disabled”).  The same must be done when discussing patients or study participants. Avoid using phrases such as “confined to a wheelchair,” which implies that the person is somehow limited or by their wheelchair use. Instead, “uses a wheelchair” is preferable.

It is similarly important to avoid words or phrases that imply helplessness on the part of people who have experienced illness or trauma. For this reason, the style guide advises against using the term “victim”: instead of “victim of trauma” or “stroke victim,” use “survivor of trauma” or “person who has had a stroke.”

Use of people-first language and avoidance of emotion-laden terms such as “suffering” and “victim” offer patients autonomy and dignity even as they’re being written about anonymously in a journal publication that thousands of people read every day.—Suzanne Walker