Person First Language and Ableism
by Amy Sequenzia If you are not Disabled and you are demanding the use of Person First Language (PFL), you are being ableist. If you are Disabled and you are demanding that other Disabled people use Person First Language, you are being ableist. If you are Disabled and want to use Person First Language when referring to yourself, I will respect that. I will also respect your right to demand that other people use Person First Language when referring to you. But the Person First Language concept is ableist, and I can tell you why. I do know the
I Am Disabled and I Am Proud
"Polite society often tells us that we need to take the 'dis' out of disability, but maybe... just maybe, we should spend some time putting it back in. Take the "dis" out of disability and you remove the core of what has shaped my life. Disability puts the "D" in diversity, but in order to make that a real difference we've got to own that spot. It took me 35 years to respect and honor that truth. Others shouldn't have to wait that long..." Lawrence Carter-Long