TORONTO -- Canadians need to get more comfortable with using the term âdisabled peopleâ to describe those who wish to be called that, advocates say.
Over the past 10 to 15 years, disability advocates have embraced the term âdisabled personâ to describe members of their community instead of âpeople with disabilitiesâ -- 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.
âI find that when allies or representative of disabled people are speaking about disability, they tend to be pretty cagey around the word âdisabled,ââ said Mads Clement, a Metis-Anishinaabe non-binary disability advocate. âWhen I hear âperson with a disabilityâ or god forbid âdifferently-abledâ... it has been from an ally.â
During their time as an inclusion advocate at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., Clement, who has autism, said, âeveryone Iâve met through there, almost unanimously, prefers âdisabled person.ââ
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.
âPeople think that âdisabledâ is a bad word because disability has historically been associated with bad things before we learned how to care properly for disabled people.â
In the 1960s, psychologists and disability civil rights activists wanted to push back against , seeking to reclaim their stolen dignity and personhood.
âPeople with disabilitiesâ is an example of âpeople-first language,â 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 âidentify-first language.â
âDisability is and does often become a huge part of who you are. So separating it as âpersons with disabilitiesâ is like sort of taking away from the disabled experience in a way,â 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.
Theyâve all expressed their strong preferences for calling themselves âdisabled peopleâ 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 âdifferently-abledâ or non-descript words such as as âdiversibilityâ -- a mashup of disability and diversity.
âPersonally, Iâve hit my own wall with euphemism with disabilities or cute ways to refer to disabilities,â Jewelles Smith, the government relations co-ordinator for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. âIâm disabled and society is such that there are many things that are challenging.â
Clement agreed. âI donât need to be told my disability is actually a superpower,â they said. âI am an adult who is concretely impacted by an ableist society. Whatâs my superpower? Having a meltdown on the train because itâs too loud?â
But Smith, who prefers the term âdisabled personâ for herself, acknowledged that referring to people âwith a disabilityâ is still commonly used and isnât necessarily offensive to some disabled folks.
GOV'T RECOMMENDS 'PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES'
The Government of Canadaâs ââ resource page doesnât specifically weigh in on the term âdisabled people,â but urges the use of the term âpeople with disabilitiesâ over terms such as âthe disabled.â
The page also explains that âa disability is a functional limitation or restriction of an individualâs ability to perform an activity. The word âdisabledâ is an adjective, not a noun. People are not conditions.â
In an email to CTVNews.ca, Shelley Fletcher, executive director of People First of Canada, a national organization representing people with intellectual disabilities, said, âwe would mostly use either the phrase âperson with a disabilityâ or âpeople with disabilities.ââ
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 âpeople with a disability.â
But both of them had caveats.
âLanguage evolves over time,â said Carr, who stressed she could only speak for Inclusion Canada. She fully appreciates and respects how the term âdisabled personâ is being more frequently used in some circles, with Fletcher similarly acknowledging that other âdisability organizations may have their own preferences.â
And this change in disabled peoplesâ preferences is definitely being noticed by Frank Smith, the national co-ordinator for the Ottawa-based advocacy group National Educational Association of Disabled Students.
âEvery individual who has a disability might have their own strong reasons for one or the other,â he told CTVNews.ca in an email on Tuesday. In his own groupâs public statements, Smith said they alternate âbetween âdisabled personâ and âperson with a disability;â and âdisabled studentâ and âstudent with a disabilityâ for variety in the language.â
Since 1986, Smithâs 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 didnât limit a personâs place in society.
But Smith said the pivot back to âdisabled peopleâ is meant to âemphasize that the disability is something to be proud of.â And he fully supports âmany different identities that they [the disabled community] bring to the educational, employment and daily life experiences.â
He attributes this change to progressives and âthose in critical disability studies at universities,â referring to the field which examines how institutions, cities or societies 'dis-able' people systemically and socially.
BEING SPECIFIC, RESPECTING PEOPLEâS PREFERENCE IS BEST
âSometimes depending on the type of disability, there can be a lot of linguistic gymnastics around it,â longtime disability advocate Seanna Takacs told CTVNews.ca over the phone. âSo sometimes people just want to say âno, I do have a disability and itâs okay to be identified in that sort of way.â
While Takacsâ own preference is for people-first language, she said there may be a generational gap for people in or advocating for disabled communities.
âThere still needs to be some trappings for privacy for some folks my age,â she said, and this may play into peopleâs acceptance of the use of âdisabled person.â But Takacs said younger generations are demanding âwhy canât I be upfront about that?â
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.
âBut I think overall the guiding principle is that people donât want to be identified only as someone who has a disability,â said Takacs, the co-chair of Accessibility and Inclusion Community of Practice for the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.
âWe want to be identified as people who have thoughts and opinions; and a place in the community.â
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 âdisabledâ it can leave disabled people themselves confused.
Smith used the example of some campuses introducing a vaguely-named âaccess centre,â and joked: âYou wonder âis that where I get my passport renewed? I just want my disability needs met.â
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 arenât 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 âdisabledâ is a way for people with varying needs and disabilities to rally together, but echoed Hazime that itâs not an excuse for people not to address their specific needs.
People First of Canadaâs communication director, Catherine Rodgers, agreed and gave the example of people saying: âdisabled people need more ramps at polling stations,â when they should be saying âpeople with physical disabilities need more ramps at polling stations.â
The first choice assumed people with disabilities need âthe exact same thingsâ and didnât 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 âdisabled people,â when speaking broadly.
And this ongoing fight for specificity and growing use of the term âdisabled personsâ has been encouraging for Takacs, whose generation tended to deal with disabilities privately.
âThe whole conversation about accessibility and identity really changes and thatâs lovely to see.â
Edited by CTVNews.ca Producer Sonja Puzic