POWERED UP - AN INSIGHT BY THE IN GROUP
Article written by Katy Bhatti, Contracts Manager, The IN Group.
People who use wheelchairs ‘go for walks.’ People with visual impairments may say they are pleased to ‘see you.’ According to the gov.uk website, most disabled people are comfortable using everyday phrases when talking about disability. One thing you’ll often hear at an Investigo diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) committee meeting is that it’s a ‘safe space,’ and it is. We’re all coming from a good place, so even if a word lands in the wrong way, we know the intent behind it was good. Yet, one of the things we hear time and again is the question, “What if I say the wrong thing?” Jennie Berry, a disabled content creator, recently highlighted the negative language often used when talking about disability. Jennie says, “I’m loved, I’m safe, I’m free. Being disabled is by no means a walk in the park,” showing an example of how disabled people do use everyday phrases. Jenny then asks that “next time you see a disabled person, try not to pity them. Have an open mind about their life and how fulfilling it may be.” There are countless similar posts from disabled content creators on social media demonstrating the importance of the language used around disability and to people with disabilities.
CREDIT - JENNIE BERRY
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Should we use a different word?
I would guess that when most people hear the word ‘disabled,’ the image of a person in a wheelchair immediately comes to mind. If you think about disabled signage in parking spaces, toilets or a multitude of other places in our daily lives, it almost always has a wheelchair symbol attached to it. So it’s natural that every time we see disabled signs with wheelchairs, we’ll associate wheelchairs with the word disabled. It’s interesting that when I put the word ‘disabled’ into Google, it’s only in the 78th picture that I found a person not in a wheelchair. Disabilities come in a whole range of forms. In fact, only 8% of disabled people use a wheelchair, and many disabilities are invisible, such as chronic pain conditions.
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