Disability and inclusion language

It is important to differentiate between impairment and disability. Impairment is the injury, illness or condition that can cause a loss or difference of function. Disability refers to the loss of opportunities to take part in society because of social and environmental barriers. 

Frequently used terms in Sightsavers communications 

• People with disabilities/person with a disability (disabled people/person). In most cases use ‘people with disabilities/person with a disability’. When quoting someone, try to use the language the person has used unless there’s a specific reason not to 

• Person/people with [name of impairment] 

• People without disabilities/person without a disability 

• Persons with disabilities. Global organisations including the United Nations and the World Health Organization use this term. But it’s jarring for people who don’t work in the development sector. If your audience isn’t familiar with the term, use ‘people’ instead of ‘persons’, except where it’s part of a title or quote 

• Person with a sensory impairment 

• Blind person 

• Partially sighted person 

• Person with low vision 

• Person with visual impairment 

• Deaf/deaf person. There is a strong Deaf community with its own culture and sense of identity, based on a shared language. When referring to a person or people who identify as part of this community, cap up the D in Deaf. If in doubt, write ‘d/Deaf’ 

• Person with hearing loss 

• Person who is hard of hearing 

• Person who is deafblind 

• Person who uses a wheelchair  

• Person with cerebral palsy 

Other impairments and disabilities 

Refer to the disability-inclusive language guidelines published by the United Nations office in Geneva.  

If these terms appear in quotes in translated interviews, change them to more appropriate terminology. If they appear in quotes in English, use your judgement and either avoid using the quote, or replace the term with a more appropriate alternative. If you do this, use square brackets to make it clear it’s an edited quote.

• Differently abled 

• PWD 

• Special needs 

• Cripple 

• Invalid 

• Victim 

• Handicapped 

• Suffering from 

• Inspiring/Brave 

• Non-disabled 

• Able-bodied 

• Normal 

• Dumb (‘non-verbal’ may be an appropriate alternative, but consider whether it’s relevant to mention) 

• Deaf-mute 

• Confined to a wheelchair/wheelchair-bound 

• Spastic 

• Midget 

• Mentally handicapped 

• Mentally defective 

• Retarded 

• Sub-normal 

• Mongoloid 

• Stupid 

• Slow/slow learner 

• Fits (when referring to someone who has epilepsy) 

Avoid using ableist cliches and phrases, including ‘turn a blind eye/the blind leading the blind/fall on deaf ears’. 

Never refer to people with disabilities using collective nouns: the blind, the disabled, the deaf.