People-first language emphasizes the individuality, equality and dignity of people with disabilities. Rather than defining people primarily by their disability, people-first language conveys respect by emphasizing the fact that people with disabilities are first and foremost just that—people. Employers should use people-first language when communicating about disability issues, whether verbally or in writing.
| Affirmative Phrases | Negative Phrases |
|---|---|
| Person with an intellectual, cognitive, developmental disability | Retarded Mentally defective |
| Person who is blind Person who is visually impaired | The blind |
| Person with a disability | The disabled Handicapped |
| Person who is deaf | The deaf Deaf and dumb |
| Person who is hard of hearing | Suffers a hearing loss |
| Person who has multiple sclerosis | Afflicted by MS |
| Person with cerebral palsy | CP victim |
| Person with epilepsy Person with a seizure disorder | Epileptic |
| Person who uses a wheelchair | Wheelchair bound Confined to a wheelchair |
| Person who has muscular dystrophy | Stricken by MD |
| Person with a physical disability | Crippled Lame Deformed |
| Person who is unable to speak Person who uses synthetic speech | Dumb Mute |
| Person with a psychiatric disability | Crazy Nuts |
| Person who is successful, productive | Has overcome his/her disability Is courageous (when it implies the person has courage because of having a disability) |
| Person who is in recovery from a substance abuse disorder | Addict |