Print Friendly VersionMarch 2006, Issue 7
FirstFacts
Welcome to IndependenceFirst’s FirstFacts monthly e-newsletter containing Employer Updates about the advantages of diversifying your workforce by hiring people with disabilities! It’s a quick read with useful tips for business…
FirstFacts for March:
This month we are talking about "People First" language. People with disabilities, like people from other minority groups, like to be spoken to and about in certain respectful ways which recognizes their being a person first, rather than associated with their disability/minority first.
1. When describing someone with a disability, the person is always described first e.g. "person with a disability" rather than saying "disabled person."
2. Avoid terms and substitute for () terms: "wheelchair bound" (person who uses a wheelchair), "handicapped" (people with disabilities, accessible parking), "crippled" (personal with a physical disability), "stricken with…" (person who has MS, etc.), "victim of…" (person who has Parkinson’s Disease), "suffers from…" (person who has a mental illness), and the like.
3. Unacceptable disability specific terms which can be replaced with () include: "brain damaged" (person with a brain injury), "midget" (little person), "paralyzed" (person with has paralysis), "insane" or "crazy" (person with a mental illness), "retarded" (person with a learning or developmental disability), "the blind" (people who are blind), "the deaf" (people who are Deaf), etc.
4. The media and general public don’t always think about "Person First" language and now your company can be much more welcoming to employees and customers with disabilities by using courteous language consciously.
The numbers of persons with disabilities are growing. Businesses who tap into the power of people with disabilities will find a previously untapped marketforce, workforce, and group that contributes to the diversity of the community.
If you want more information on employing people with disabilities or about the employer services offered by IndependenceFirst, please email firstfacts@independencefirst.org or call (414) 291-7520 and ask for the Benefits and Employment Department. 
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