International Day of People with Disability 2021: Week Long Discussion

Part 4 Another way your personal definition of and identification with disability may be reflected is in the language you use to refer to it. Two key approaches are person first language, which puts the individual first (I.e. person with disability) and identity first language, which, you guessed it, places the diagnosis first (I.e. disabled person) There are many reasons people may choose different language to refer to themselves. And sometimes we might prefer identity first language from close friends or loved ones but not from a stranger. Or we might only use identify first language to refer to one element of our disability but not others.
Questions

- Which approach to language, person first or identity first, resonates most strongly with you? Does this differ based on the situation at all?

- How do you refer to disability, for yourself or others?

I’ll tag those who supported my last post or have contributed to the discussion @Appleblossom @BPDSurvivor @still_bookish @Former-Member

In a funny way my life journey has been partly centred around this issue. After I completed my BA in lit I spent a lot of effort in understanding alternative ways of looking at my family and history without slipping into the all too easy "diagnosis" labels and limited mind sets. Certainly my time on this forum has been about opening up the conversations, whilst also coming to terms with the definite disadvantages I and my family encountered.

@TideisTurning

Internalised ableism seems complex with a range of consequences and dynamics.

https://dasanetwork.org/blog/internalized-ableism-and-mental-wellness-a-belated-mental-health-awareness-week-post/

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@still_bookish wrote:

I’d be nothing but supportive and encouraging to anyone else, so I attempt to give myself credit as well when I do achieve things. I'm not always successful. It’s definitely a work in progress.

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This up here ^ is so perfectly put ... it can be hard to be kind to ourselves, I can be my own worst critic too. In an attempt to combat that, and this is a little embaressing, but I've taken to cheering myself on internally and celebrating my wins, sometimes even externally with a little "whoop whoop". It sounds silly but it feels better than kicking yourself when you're down.

- Which approach to language, person first or identity first, resonates most strongly with you? Does this differ based on the situation at all?

When others refer to me, I prefer person first. When I speak of myself, I use both, depending on the situation. Upon reflection, i use disability first when I see the disability as a challenge or when I want to establish a community for people with like-disabilities. Otherwise, I use person first.

- How do you refer to disability, for yourself or others?

I am very mindful that I put person first when it comes to referring to others. An image similar to the following has always stuck with me:

Figure 1: A person WITH disability

Figure 2: A disabled person

Through my work as studies, another important part is using the terms:

"People with disabilities" vs "People with disability"

The former infers that all people have more than one disability, whereas the latter infers people may just have one disability. This is relatively new in the disability sector.

Thanks for sharing and reading!

@Appleblossom @Former-Member @TideisTurning @chibam @still_bookish @periwinklepixie

@Appleblossom It can be really hard to resist focusing on or buying into limited mindsets when they seem dominant while also acknowledging that the experience of disability can come with disadvantages. This is where things like equity are so important to, in a way and where possible, even the playing field through providing supports or provisions to ensure everyone has a fair go. Thank you so much for sharing that article also. It is so thorough, insightful and valuable.

@Former-Member I LOVE the idea of cheering yourself on! I feel like it's such an important way to balance out all the times we might beat ourselves up.

@BPDSurvivor thank you for sharing with us your observations around your own use of language in relation to disability. It makes sense to highlight disability through identity first language when encountering a challenge. I really appreciate your careful attention to person first language in reference to others. Thank you also for highlighting and explaining for us the difference between using 'people with disabilities' and 'people with disability'. It just goes to show how nuanced, yet incredibly important language can be.

That brings us to the end of our week long discussion. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed answering questions, sharing your thoughts, knowledge, ideas and experiences and supporting and encouraging each other so openly and generously. It is through the sharing of lived experiences, especially the harder and more yucky experiences, that understanding can be enhanced and in so doing, creating a path toward improved support and the willingness of others to listen without judgement to those experiences that can facilitate those improvements to support, and lead to a more inclusive and accessible word for everyone. A huge thanks also to those who have supported and read along thoughout the week.

@chibam I've really appreciated your perspective and the ideas you've shared about how disability is defined, both as a general concept and individually for yourself. Thank you also for enlightening me, and I'm sure many others, to the differences between internal and external impacts. I feel like it's a super important distinction.

@BPDSurvivor, your careful attention to and knowledge of nuances in language is amazing! I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from the knowledge you have shared as well as for your highlighting of positive elements of what may seem to be exclusively negative experiences, such as exploring both the harmful and helpful impacts of assumptions. For me, it's served as such an important reminder that even when something may seem all bad, it's not necessarily and that there is choice, such as the choice to look for positives hidden in the thick of negatives.

@still_bookish, I've really appreciated the knowledge and experiences of disability you've contributed to the discussion and your dedicated attention and commitment to accessibility and inclusivity generally. It is because of the attention paid to such things by people like yourself that improvements are made to enhance accessibility even further and in so doing, promote more inclusivity than there was before.

@Appleblossom thank you so much (again) for sharing so openly and honestly about difficult and traumatic experiences with horrible things like shame and stigma. I know what you've shared will help reduce feelings of isolation for others who have or are experiencing similar things.

@Former-Member, thank you so much for highlighting and sharing the impact internalised ableism can have as well as the impact of finding community through identifying as disabled. The power of your sharing may well shine a beacon of hope for others struggling that it is possible to effectively challenge something as tricky to battle as internalised ableism.

@Former-Member, I super appreciate the way you've highlighted some really important points for us throughout the week and shared some great things along the way, both resources and snippets of your experiences. It's people like you who amplify voices that may otherwise struggle to be heard.

For my part, I'd like to leave you all with a few links to other resources and further reading (or in some cases, viewing) that may be of interest, compiled of research and also what some have shared through the discussion.

Resources

• People with Disabilities Australia- https://pwd.org.au/
• Women with Disabilities Australia- https://wwda.org.au/
• Australian Network on Disability- https://www.and.org.au/ carries a lot of information and resources relating to the professional sphere, for students, employees and employers

Further Reading/ Interest

• Listenable- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF4WlfwLx3I824cTbTMrBjQ/videos (videos)/ https://www.listnr.com/podcasts/listenable/5179621b-61ae-4728-b095-ab6d003d1d13 (podcast/ audio only). Each episode features someone with disability.
• Hannah Gadsby's TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87qLWFZManA includes some discussion from Hannah on the impact of receiving a diagnosis.
• ‘Dear Disabled Friend’ (Carly Findlay)- https://carlyfindlay.com.au/2021/12/03/dear-disabled-friend-on-international-day-of-people-with-disability-2021/ addressed to people with disability in honour of IDPwD
• Hey Disability Allies (Carly Findlay)- https://carlyfindlay.com.au/2021/12/03/hey-disability-allies-idpwd21/ addressed to disability allies in honour of IDPwD.

• On internalised ableism- https://dasanetwork.org/blog/internalized-ableism-and-mental-wellness-a-belated-mental-health-awareness-week-post/

If there is anything you know of that isn't listed, please feel free to post about it, whether that be stories or other resources. And of course, you are more than welcome to keep the discussion going for yourselves if this is something you'd like to do. I have no doubt there are many more things to be discussed, some in deeper detail and countless invaluable perspectives yet to be shared and/or heard. This is just the beginning! 😊