Posted on Leave a comment

‘Midget’ Or ‘Retarded’? How To Write About Disability

close up photo of keyboard

The following is an excerpt from our Disability Marketing Guide.

Because we believe you are committed to helping persons with disabilities, we have bought the guide for you. We hope it helps …

This may be a tricky part: Making sure your messaging and phraseology aligns with your newfound friends. If disability is new to you, it’s quite likely you may have preconceived notions about what a person with a disability looks like, or what they do on a daily basis. There’s no shame in that. 

Honestly, you are operating off what you have absorbed from friends, family and even the media, all common sources for inaccurate details about the disability community to spread. 

In this section, I listed out a few terms to avoid when communicating in any form with the disability community. Some terms may seem more obvious than others, but you might gain a deeper understanding and respect for people who may live a life different than yours. Keep in mind that there is no clear consensus on what words to use and not to use when talking with persons with disabilities. Some people prefer, for example, being referred to as a “disabled person,” others prefer person-first language (person with a disability). Mindfully listening will help you determine what a person prefers. 

Generally speaking, the below words are not accepted when referring to a person with a disability.

Dumb / Crazy / Insane / Batty: Albeist terms once used in everyday language. They tends to focus on our limitations, as well.

Handicapped: This term is used to refer to one who has is disabled. It has since become outdated.

Handicapable: Generally speaking, this is an “ableist” term. This has historically been used to focus on a person’s limitations.

Hearing impairment: an outdated term to describe one who has a limited hearing ability. Use, instead, “hard of hearing” or “deaf.” The National Association of the Deaf states: “Deaf and hard of hearing people have the right to choose what they wish to be called, either as a group or on an individual basis.  Overwhelmingly, deaf and hard of hearing people prefer to be called ‘deaf’ or ‘hard of hearing.’  Nearly all organizations of the deaf use the term ‘deaf and hard of hearing,’”

Gifted: This indicates a disability gives us a special talent, and it casts us as inspirational, which contradicts the preferences of many with disabilities.

Midget: This is an offensive word used to refer to person with a shorter stature. “Whether or not the intention of using the word is to bully and to demean, or just as a synonym for small, the term has been deemed a slur by those within the community and should be eliminated accordingly,” the organization Little People of America released in a statement.

Retarded: As the Special Olympics so bluntly states, “the R-word is a form of hate speech.” This word is very much offensive in the disability community today. You will see later that it used to be a popular word. Times have changed.

Suffers from … / Afflicted with …: These terms suggest “disability” is a bad thing, and that a person with a disability suffers constantly. That’s not so.

Wheelchair bound / Confined to a wheelchair: Outdated terms that suggest a person with a disability is limited to their wheelchair. Not true.

Here are words that are more commonly accepted today: 

Amputee / Person who is an amputee: Both are accepted, and refer to a person who had a bodily extremity removed.

Blind person / Person who is blind: Either works, and refer to a person who does not have 20/20 vision. A blind person usually has no, or very limited vision, while “visually impaired” is a more generic term. I would suggest asking the person for their preferences. They might say they prefer the terms “limited vision,” “low vision,” or “partially sighted,” according to the NCDJ.

Deaf person / Person who is deaf: Describes a person who has limited or no hearing. 

Disabled: Increasingly, over the past few years, individuals with disabilities have referred to themselves as “disabled” or a “disabled person.” This is not universal, so it doesn’t hurt to ask which a person prefers.

Hard of hearing: This describes a person with limited hearing abilities.

Mental illness / mental health condition: Both are accepted when referring to a condition that affects a person’s ability to think, feel, behavior or express moods. It’s generally accepted to say, a person “has a mental illness” or “has anxiety,” but you should what a person prefers.

Person with a disability: This is possibly used as frequently as “disabled,” and it is again circumstantial. Some people prefer “person with a disability” over disabled, because it indicates that they are a person first. 

Uses a wheelchair / wheelchair use: Perfect! I do, yes, use a wheelchair, and I am a wheelchair user. Either terms works. I am not confined to it, or stuck in it. Rather, I just use it, like you use your legs.

Posted on Leave a comment

What Not To Say About Disability

The following is an excerpt from our Disability Marketing Guide.

Because we believe you are committed to helping persons with disabilities, we have bought the guide for you. We hope it helps …

This may be a tricky part: Making sure your messaging and phraseology aligns with your newfound friends. If disability is new to you, it’s quite likely you may have preconceived notions about what a person with a disability looks like, or what they do on a daily basis. There’s no shame in that. 

Honestly, you are operating off what you have absorbed from friends, family and even the media, all common sources for inaccurate details about the disability community to spread. 

In this section, I listed out a few terms to avoid when communicating in any form with the disability community. Some terms may seem more obvious than others, but you might gain a deeper understanding and respect for people who may live a life different than yours. Keep in mind that there is no clear consensus on what words to use and not to use when talking with persons with disabilities. Some people prefer, for example, being referred to as a “disabled person,” others prefer person-first language (person with a disability). Mindfully listening will help you determine what a person prefers. 

Generally speaking, the below words are not accepted when referring to a person with a disability.

Dumb / Crazy / Insane / Batty: Albeist terms once used in everyday language. They tends to focus on our limitations, as well.

Handicapped: This term is used to refer to one who has is disabled. It has since become outdated.

Handicapable: Generally speaking, this is an “ableist” term. This has historically been used to focus on a person’s limitations.

Hearing impairment: an outdated term to describe one who has a limited hearing ability. Use, instead, “hard of hearing” or “deaf.” The National Association of the Deaf states: “Deaf and hard of hearing people have the right to choose what they wish to be called, either as a group or on an individual basis.  Overwhelmingly, deaf and hard of hearing people prefer to be called ‘deaf’ or ‘hard of hearing.’  Nearly all organizations of the deaf use the term ‘deaf and hard of hearing,’”

Gifted: This indicates a disability gives us a special talent, and it casts us as inspirational, which contradicts the preferences of many with disabilities.

Midget: This is an offensive word used to refer to person with a shorter stature. “Whether or not the intention of using the word is to bully and to demean, or just as a synonym for small, the term has been deemed a slur by those within the community and should be eliminated accordingly,” the organization Little People of America released in a statement.

Retarded: As the Special Olympics so bluntly states, “the R-word is a form of hate speech.” This word is very much offensive in the disability community today. You will see later that it used to be a popular word. Times have changed.

Suffers from … / Afflicted with …: These terms suggest “disability” is a bad thing, and that a person with a disability suffers constantly. That’s not so.

Wheelchair bound / Confined to a wheelchair: Outdated terms that suggest a person with a disability is limited to their wheelchair. Not true.

Here are words that are more commonly accepted today: 

Amputee / Person who is an amputee: Both are accepted, and refer to a person who had a bodily extremity removed.

Blind person / Person who is blind: Either works, and refer to a person who does not have 20/20 vision. A blind person usually has no, or very limited vision, while “visually impaired” is a more generic term. I would suggest asking the person for their preferences. They might say they prefer the terms “limited vision,” “low vision,” or “partially sighted,” according to the NCDJ.

Deaf person / Person who is deaf: Describes a person who has limited or no hearing. 

Disabled: Increasingly, over the past few years, individuals with disabilities have referred to themselves as “disabled” or a “disabled person.” This is not universal, so it doesn’t hurt to ask which a person prefers.

Hard of hearing: This describes a person with limited hearing abilities.

Mental illness / mental health condition: Both are accepted when referring to a condition that affects a person’s ability to think, feel, behavior or express moods. It’s generally accepted to say, a person “has a mental illness” or “has anxiety,” but you should what a person prefers.

Person with a disability: This is possibly used as frequently as “disabled,” and it is again circumstantial. Some people prefer “person with a disability” over disabled, because it indicates that they are a person first. 

Uses a wheelchair / wheelchair use: Perfect! I do, yes, use a wheelchair, and I am a wheelchair user. Either terms works. I am not confined to it, or stuck in it. Rather, I just use it, like you use your legs.

Posted on Leave a comment

Ryan: Why My Disability Is A Gift

Ryan Wilson poses with two occupational therapists in a hospital room.

By Ryan Wilson

Chief Executive Officer, Team Trust

I firmly believe my disability is a gift.

I understand some persons with disabilities may not think their disabilities are “gifts,” and I know a disability can lead to discrimination, hospital visits, medical bills and other unnecessary obstacles.

None of those obstacles are fun. 

But I personally would not change a thing.

I cannot change the fact that I break bones easier, and I cannot change the fact that there are obstacles to, say, just enter a restaurant.

If I cannot change it (the fact that I have a disability), then why should I be down about it?

I will advocate for equality all the time, and that’s just part of what I do for others and myself.

I do like me, and I don’t ever want that to change.

– Ryan Wilson

If I was unhappy with my having brittle bones, then I’m just unhappy.

If I didn’t like being 3 foot 8, then I don’t like me. 

I do like me, and I don’t ever want that to change.

My disability has led me to life-changing experiences and friends that few are grateful to have, and that’s a gift.

To learn more about Ryan, see his bio. You can also send him a note.

Posted on Leave a comment

This Changed My Personal and Professional Lives

Text written on a wall reads, "Dream Big and Work Hard! Jean Driscoll. 10-6-18. Boston Marathon. 1996, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, 2008

By Ryan Wilson

Team Trust, CEO

I grew up in the middle of cornfields in a small town in Illinois.

It seemed I was the only person in the entire county in a wheelchair, though that is not statistically accurate.

When I transitioned to the University of Illinois, an hour and a half away from home, I encountered, almost immediately, extremely talented athletes with disabilities and massive hearts.

They let me into their communities and worlds.

It was amazing.

At the same time, I noticed most media outlets — radio, newspaper, TV, digital — were not covering these athletes. 

It was disappointing, and certainly a missed opportunity.

So, I assembled a few friends, and we proposed to create what was the only Paralympic-specific radio program in the nation at the University of Illinois.

Our pitch was successful, and we eventually landed a Friday drive-time slot.

We interviewed many of the greatest athletes in the world in our studio, even the one and only Jean Driscoll.

She, like all our other friends who visited the studio, signed the wall.

The show did fizzle out after my graduation, but it unquestionably inspired the creation of Team Trust.

There never really is a bad day to authentically promote the disability community.

Posted on Leave a comment

A Message on Ryan’s Gratitude for Life

An open space with tables and chairs.

By Ryan Wilson

Team Trust

Recently, I came across this picture.

I haven’t seen it since I was in the hospital last year.

I believe my mom took this photo to show me what the cafeteria area of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital looked like.

I had been in the ICU there for a few days.

I had fallen out of my wheelchair, and needed surgery.

The surgery took a turn for the worse, and I was unconscious for three days.

Once I came to, I was looking for the outside world.

When I first ventured to this cafeteria (in the picture), I vividly remember two things: watching a man helping a little girl (presumably his daughter) and a fish tank.

The little girl was in a hot pink manual wheelchair. Her chair was shaped similar to one of my manual chairs, and it, just like hers, gives off the hospital-wheelchair vibe.

I remember seeing this girl, thinking of all the athlete-friends I have in wheelchairs, and, of course, feeling deeply grateful for all those who have helped me.

As my parents grabbed my food, I sat alone at the table, under a cluster of drugs, and with no functioning limb.

I thought to myself:

“What am I doing? So many disabled people have helped me. I need to make sure I help many disabled kids just like her.”

A few minutes earlier, the fish tank took my breath away.

It was remarkably colorful, and the fish, shimmying up, down and around a bright blue tank, looked so alive.

That, I admit, almost made me tear up.

I was — and still am — so grateful to be alive.

Posted on 1 Comment

Ryan: Why My Shaq-Sized Wish Changed

A young Ryan is pictured with Shaquille O'Neal

I grew up in the middle of central Illinois.

It seemed I was the only disabled kid in the entire county, although that is not statistically accurate.

I was a huge Shaquille O’Neal fan.

He was my guy, my hero.

Super big, relatable and kind of funny.

I watched every NBA game with Shaq, and I dreamt of playing alongside Shaq, winning NBA titles like never before.

But, as I watched his games, I saw something that dimmed my Shaq-sized dreams.

It was the commercials of kids who looked like me, and even had my disability.

They were always shown in hospitals, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, plugged into a number of devices, and surrounded by friends and family as if the end was near.

Honestly, I know what it’s like to be that kid in the hospital

I did not need or want to see reminders of my days in the hospital.

Rather, what I needed as a kid was to see kids who looked like me living the dream I had.

Playing basketball.

And winning.

After developing personal relationships with many Paralympic athletes in the U.S. and around the world, I realized disabled people can play basketball, and we can win a lot.

A woman is shown pushing her black wheelchair racing chair.
When I spent time with Paralympic athletes, like Amanda McGrory (shown), my perspective on my own dreams changed

That’s why I created Team Trust: to show — and prove — that disabled people, sure, endure some challenges, but we also have very, very awesome lives.

To learn why and how to easily integrate disability into your marketing, check out our free disability marketing guide.

Consumers want brands to show diversity in their ads.

Diversity includes disability.