In the past, the National Center on Disability and Journalism’s disability language style guide prioritized the use of person-first language — advising language like “person with a disability,” for ...

Many people have intersecting identities and may choose not to share all of those identities in your communications. When possible, it is strongly recommended that you ask people how they prefer to be ...

Using anecdotal examples, this article will argue that focusing on language rather than on actions is unlikely to result in community integration of people with disabilities. It will also provide ...

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet famously asks, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” She wonders how the name someone has can define them, ...

Imagine yourself back in school, and each student in your class is reading a section of a story. As your turn approaches, you get more and more nervous. Nothing could be worse than having to read in ...

You might have noticed in this story that I used the phrase “people with disabilities” a lot instead of using things we’re used to seeing or hearing more often like “handicapped” or “disabled.” You’ve ...

Disability Pride Month has served as a reminder that there is a new vocabulary emerging that continues to transform the disability experience in a multitude of ways. Over the past thirty years, the ...

The opinion piece “Autistic Isn’t a Bad Word: The Case for Rethinking Your Language ”(April 7, 2023) helped me realize the need to unpack and reevaluate my approach to labeling students with specific ...

Andrews is a practicing board-certified psychologist, having published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and given more than 50 public lectures. Her book was the first ...

Content warning: This article mentions and discusses offensive words related to people with disabilities. It’s not “oversensitive,” or too “new” of a concern for organizations and businesses to take a ...