Which term should be avoided when referring to people with disabilities?

Which term should be avoided when referring to people with disabilities?

• A. Disability
• B. Impairment
• C. Handicap
• D. Barrier

Answer: (C)

Language around disability has shifted toward terms that keep the person at the center and describe the condition or environment in a respectful way. Handicap is the term to avoid because it has long carried a stigmatizing, outdated sense of a person being intrinsically limited by society or circumstance. It’s seen as demeaning and no longer appropriate for referring to people. Disability is a broad term used to describe a condition or difference; impairment refers to a loss or abnormality in body or function in a medical sense; barrier describes an obstacle in the environment or attitudes that makes participation harder. None of these are used to label a person in a negative way the way handicap historically was, which is why handicap is the term to steer clear of.

Language around disability has shifted toward terms that keep the person at the center and describe the condition or environment in a respectful way. Handicap is the term to avoid because it has long carried a stigmatizing, outdated sense of a person being intrinsically limited by society or circumstance. It’s seen as demeaning and no longer appropriate for referring to people.

Disability is a broad term used to describe a condition or difference; impairment refers to a loss or abnormality in body or function in a medical sense; barrier describes an obstacle in the environment or attitudes that makes participation harder. None of these are used to label a person in a negative way the way handicap historically was, which is why handicap is the term to steer clear of.