Even those proud of their adherence to the rules of political correctness have slips of the tongue. Whether it is intentional or not, we often do not have the full understanding of the words that we use. How many times have you heard someone tell you that your convictions about undocumented workers are dumb, or that not giving women equal rights is lame?

The distaste for words with derogatory connotation about minorities has infiltrated our daily language. Save a few pockets around the country, we have embraced the terminology that is culturally sensitive.

Yet, there are groups on the fringes of the political arena who still experience discrimination in language. One of those groups is persons with disabilities. The movement for the rights of persons with disabilities is not unified, and has not been able to gain the power other historically disadvantaged groups have.

To those who truly wish to pursue social equality, that is not an excuse. Because many are not familiar with the issues surrounding the language used to describe disability, here is a crash course on what you should know about language and disability.

Use the phrase “person with a disability” instead of “disabled person.” Doing so places the emphasis on the person, not the impairment, as the subject. The seemingly minute distinction enforces the full humanity of persons with disabilities.

Similarly, the word “handicapped” should not be used. It comes from 19^th Century England, where the only means a person with a disability had of supporting his or her self was to beg. Literally, they were the ones with caps in hand.

The impropriety of using, among others, dumb, lame and retarded as derogatory terms seems self-explanatory.

Accepting the above into your vocabulary is difficult. There is little social, political or peer pressure to do so. Even if you are a member of Congress, saying that the opposing party’s economic policy is stupid, like the Democratic Party did with their enormously popular THE ECONOMY, STUPID, is not likely to land you a New York Times headline. If you attack race or gender, on the other hand, you may get a headline and a picture.

Disability-conscious language may appear to some as a stretch. It limits the freedom of speech in the public arena. Well, if you cannot come up with a non-offensive synonym for bad, lacking reason or ridiculous, you may be the one with a disability. If that’s not the case, try to incorporate more conscious language into your daily speech.

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