Public Address | Cafe | Access: Words and Disability - The Delicate Balance https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/ en-us Copyright (c) 2026 Public Address Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=313789#post313789 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=313789#post313789 problematic words when wrting about disability. Welcome your feedback. ]]> Sat, 24 May 2014 22:06:58 +1200 Angela Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312283#post312283 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312283#post312283 Tue, 06 May 2014 12:12:24 +1200 BDB Inc https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312106#post312106 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312106#post312106 Foucalt did not address any solution to misunderstandings which are inseparable with words (as it is their nature to separate). To separate is the nature of the carnal mind.
Different word associations are as common as undividual minds. If we do not accept any other peoples concepts for words that…

]]> Mon, 05 May 2014 08:43:00 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312088#post312088 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312088#post312088 It's actually extremely difficult to find words which are fully inclusive, not laboured and not offensive.

Impossible I'd say. We need to get on with it. But maybe I'm just impatient?

]]> Sun, 04 May 2014 19:11:03 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312087#post312087 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312087#post312087 Even then, hearing, with or without HA’s, is a wearisome daily struggle; listening requires great concentration and I'm usually knackered at the end of the day.

Yes. This is the everyday experience I've found other disabled people understand best (along with parents of young children). It's simply tiring to adjust…

]]> Sun, 04 May 2014 19:08:44 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312086#post312086 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312086#post312086 Words are only pointers

See how Foucault speaks to you on that. Signifiers are only the beginning. Power matters.

if everyone is afraid of using words ... fear of offense.

I'd say that assigming a narrow range of motivations like that is unlikely to help us forge alliances. What can…

]]> Sun, 04 May 2014 19:03:46 +1200 BDB Inc https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312085#post312085 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312085#post312085 We are different -my concept of the word disabled does not mean" I am inferior" when someone uses the word disabled .
I maintain that we will not get traction if everyone is afraid of using words .


What I understand is there is a lost of negative reactions to…

]]> Sun, 04 May 2014 17:57:48 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312083#post312083 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312083#post312083 I’m choosing to reject a word that places me in an inferior position

and I'm choosing to reject the inferior positioning. :)

Thank you for contributing that. There's no answer that will make us all happy, but it's great to have a broad discussion of them.

]]> Sun, 04 May 2014 16:01:44 +1200 Margaret Moana McGregor https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312082#post312082 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312082#post312082 Differently abled describes a person who is normal but with a range of differing abilities, which essentially, is everyone.

I'm looking for words to describe a forum I intend to set up for people with disabilities, their families and friends. It's actually extremely difficult to find words which are fully…

]]> Sun, 04 May 2014 15:37:56 +1200 Christopher Dempsey https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312079#post312079 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312079#post312079 This is a great post, thank you Jonathan.

FWIW my take on the issue of language and 'disability' is as follows; I am deaf and have been since birth. So how I am described by the word 'disability' is of not inconsiderable importance to me.

I'm fortunate that my deafness,…

]]> Sun, 04 May 2014 10:56:23 +1200 tussock https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312005#post312005 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312005#post312005 It's pretty strait forward as a language issue.

You "are" the things which you are; smart, handsome, tall, married, a doctor, white (not going to prison for pretty much anything, eh). They're huge social constructs, routinely affecting your everyday life and how people treat you.

You "have" the things which…

]]> Fri, 02 May 2014 16:46:37 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312003#post312003 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312003#post312003 I can understand that claim

They’re referring to people with asthma, for instance. Living with a disabled person is not the same as being one for any policy purpose, really. And it’s a different yet overlapping experience (having experienced both).

]]> Fri, 02 May 2014 16:46:09 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312002#post312002 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312002#post312002 I wonder how representative the sample can be.

It’s statistically valid. But you can only answer the questions posed.

]]> Fri, 02 May 2014 16:43:29 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312001#post312001 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=312001#post312001 Fri, 02 May 2014 16:42:57 +1200 Angela Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311994#post311994 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311994#post311994 Kay, it doesn't really make a lot of sense . I expect you could find some sort of health problem with most of us, but the media tend to focus on one or two that they presumably think the public are interested in with respect to crims.

Sacha, I can…

]]> Fri, 02 May 2014 15:35:36 +1200 Kay https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311956#post311956 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311956#post311956 Fri, 02 May 2014 11:01:01 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311952#post311952 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311952#post311952 actually disabled were answering that they were. Naturally, that’s grounded in a medical understanding. Failure to challenge them on it has been another crucial gap in govt action and community leadership. ]]> Fri, 02 May 2014 10:34:36 +1200 Angela Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311951#post311951 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311951#post311951 Heh. The German equivalent is "shackled" or "chained" to a wheelchair (an den Rollstuhl gefesselt). More black and white than 50 shades of grey.

Lovely!

I wonder what the rationale is for Statistics NZ to suppress all the answers, it's not as if the material can be tracked to source.

]]> Fri, 02 May 2014 10:25:42 +1200 Jonathan Mosen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311950#post311950 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311950#post311950 Fri, 02 May 2014 10:13:39 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311943#post311943 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311943#post311943 Fri, 02 May 2014 07:43:28 +1200 Hilary Stace https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311942#post311942 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311942#post311942 Fri, 02 May 2014 07:36:39 +1200 Mireille https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311940#post311940 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311940#post311940 Thu, 01 May 2014 23:55:40 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311878#post311878 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311878#post311878 A good rule is to ask those with lived experience what they prefer – after all it is their life and identity being described.

That's fine for individuals, but we lack the representational/mandating/governance processes to do it properly at a population group level.

]]> Thu, 01 May 2014 09:54:49 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311877#post311877 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311877#post311877 Even with the NZ relay service, I have never once received a phone call in my life.

Bit sad. If only I'd known that.

]]> Thu, 01 May 2014 09:52:15 +1200 Angela Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311876#post311876 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311876#post311876 Bound to a wheelchair seems to always invoke S&M visions……


It's not as bad as "confined"

]]> Thu, 01 May 2014 09:41:52 +1200 Angela Hart https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311875#post311875 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311875#post311875 Although people can cause offense unintentionally because they use the wrong words or don't know how to behave, the important thing has to be the clear dialogue. We don't want to be talking past each other, whatever the words we're using.
Deliberate insult or offence is (hopefully) not such a…

]]> Thu, 01 May 2014 09:40:49 +1200 oga https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311865#post311865 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311865#post311865 Thu, 01 May 2014 08:11:55 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311653#post311653 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311653#post311653 Wed, 30 Apr 2014 07:40:31 +1200 Ian Dalziel https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311651#post311651 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311651#post311651 English can hamper understanding, with too many words that have multiple meanings and associations, often contradictory.
Context doesn't always instantly clarify the intended message...

...is there room for an Access Lexicon?
(or an FAAQ – frequently arrived at quibbles)

]]> Wed, 30 Apr 2014 07:31:59 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311606#post311606 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311606#post311606 Tue, 29 Apr 2014 17:31:35 +1200 Ross Mason https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311602#post311602 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311602#post311602 Person in wheelchair with arms and legs tied?

Bound to a wheelchair seems to always invoke S&M visions……

I loath that phrase!

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 17:04:35 +1200 BDB Inc https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311593#post311593 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311593#post311593 There is no delicate balance between words & disability.
Isn't talking freely about issues more important than people being afraid they will offend ?
If someone uses a term one doesn't like( is offensive) politely correct them and explain – if they are being rude remove them.

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 14:54:04 +1200 BDB Inc https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311592#post311592 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311592#post311592 Tue, 29 Apr 2014 14:49:39 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311578#post311578 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311578#post311578 Tue, 29 Apr 2014 13:10:21 +1200 Russell Brown https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311577#post311577 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311577#post311577 David Cohen uses ‘autist’ – another interesting use.

David has a contrarian's take on these things. He once told me he was quite happy with "idiot" in its old sense of meaning "profound intellectual disability".

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 13:08:51 +1200 Russell Brown https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311562#post311562 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311562#post311562 urg, I shudder at ‘living with disability’

Oh, y'know, so long as disability pays its share of the bills and takes its turn at the dishes :-)

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:21:07 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311560#post311560 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311560#post311560 live with autism

urg, I shudder at 'living with disability'

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:16:40 +1200 Hilary Stace https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311558#post311558 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311558#post311558 My aspie friend used to say he didn't live with autism, ie autism was not his flatmate.

Just having this 'people with autism', or 'children with autism' discussion in another context. A good rule is to ask those with lived experience what they prefer – after all it is their…

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:12:45 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311550#post311550 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311550#post311550 It’s not a a disease, it’s who my sons are and and how they experience the world and I always say someone “is Asperger” or “is on the autism spectrum”.

I quite like "is an aspie" – just to prove I can be inconsistent with the best of em.

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:39:08 +1200 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311549#post311549 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311549#post311549 Damn you for posting about one of my favourite topics on a school day, sir. :)

My understanding is that ’people-first’ language came to NZ via the US which has a more medicalised understanding of disability. Parents there reacted against medical professionals describing their disabled children solely by what they…

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:34:16 +1200 Jonathan Mosen https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311544#post311544 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311544#post311544 Thanks Russell, the whole issue of people being nervous to use visual language among blind people is a common source of social awkwardness.
It usually goes something like, "Did you see the documentary on TV last night?...Oh...I'm so sorry...I mean I know you couldn't *see the documentary, but...um...did you hear…

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:22:21 +1200 Russell Brown https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311542#post311542 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311542#post311542 So how do I reconcile my contempt for “person-first” language with my disdain for terms like “the blind leading the blind”. I think it comes down to this. “person-first” language trips people up, and is unlikely to change attitudes.

Few things are more likely to make me angry than such…

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:05:02 +1200 Public Address https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311541#post311541 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/access-words-and-disability-the-delicate/?p=311541#post311541 Discussion from blog post.

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:05:02 +1200