Introduction

Extensive research has shown that people with disabilities make good employees but, very often, there are fewer opportunities for employment because of wrong assumptions among employers about what disability means.

Dundee City Council is actively working to change this situation and is committed to recruiting disabled people at all levels within the Authority.

Good managers will recognise the potential and skills that disabled people have to offer and will concentrate on their abilities, as opposed to their disabilities.

As an employer "working towards equality", Dundee City Council is aware that many unnecessary barriers are created by the negative attitudes and misconceptions held by society towards people with disabilities. These barriers are reinforced by behaviour and language which may not seem important, but which can perpetuate inaccurate stereotypes and cause offence to people with disabilities.

Sometimes the simplest things, like the words we use and our actions, can help change the way we think about and act towards disabled people.

Many people want to use language which accurately describes disability and doesn't offend. In this section we have pulled together common phrases and courtesies which aim to widen your understanding of disabled people's views and preferences. These explanations are intended to be helpful, but there are no hard and fast rules. Often the best way to make a disabled person comfortable with you is to ask their advice.

The following information details the views and preferences of people with disabilities. It will help managers to avoid inappropriate language and behaviour towards people with disabilities, and enable them to give a positive lead to their staff. The guide also offers practical advice about many aspects of communicating with people with disabilities in daily life, at recruitment interviews and within the general working environment of the Council.

There is some language debate amongst disabled people about the terms which should be used. The two most common terms, "disabled people" (the term recommended by the British Council of Organisations of Disabled People) and "people with disabilities", are used in this Guide.

English is a living language and words or phrases which are currently acceptable may change in the future. If you want to be accurate, you should seek the advice of a disability forum or organisation.

The term "the disabled" is disliked because it implies that disabled people are a group separate from everyone else. Words like "spastic", "cripple" and "retard" are also insulting and usually inaccurate. Many people hate being described as a condition, for example "an epileptic".

Other negative phrases are the terms "suffering" and "victim of" which invite pity. It is a common misconception that if you are disabled you are ill.

Please bear the following guidelines in mind when talking to, or referring to, disabled people.

Disabled People do not like terms such as:-

Wheelchair bound
The Disabled
Crippled By
Spastic
Abnormal
Dwarf / midget
Backward
Handicapped
Epileptic
Confined to a Wheelchair
The Deaf, the Blind etc
Invalid
Suffering from
Victim of
Mongol
Deaf and dumb
Retard
Mute

Disabled People prefer terms such as:-

Visually Impaired Person
Hearing Impaired Person
Person with Learning Disabilities
Deaf and without Speech
Wheelchair user
Person who has (e.g. Down's Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism)
People with Disabilities
Blind Person
Deaf Person
Person with Mental Health Problems
Disabled Person

« Disability Etiquette

This information is provided by the Personnel Department