List of disability-related terms with negative connotations explained

The following is a list of terms, used to describe disabilities or people with disabilities, which may carry negative connotations or be offensive to people with or without disabilities.

Some people consider it best to use person-first language, for example "a person with a disability" rather than "a disabled person."^[1] However identity-first language, as in "autistic person" or "deaf person", is preferred by many people and organizations.^[2]

Language can influence individuals' perception of disabled people and disability.^[3] Views vary with geography and culture, over time, and among individuals. Many terms that some people view as harmful are not viewed as hurtful by others, and even where some people are hurt by certain terms, others may be hurt by the replacement of such terms with what they consider to be euphemisms (e.g., "differently abled" or "special needs"). Some people believe that terms should be avoided if they might hurt people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms used without harmful intent. For example, crazy should be avoided in describing persons or their behaviors, but is less likely to cause offense if used as an intensifier as in "crazy speed".^[4]

For some terms, the grammar structure of their use determine if they are harmful. The person-first stance advocates for saying "people with disabilities" instead of "the disabled" or "a person who is deaf" instead of "a deaf person".^{[5] [6] [7]} However, some advocate against this, saying it reflects a medical model of disability whereas "disabled person" is more appropriate and reflects the social model of disability.^[8] On the other hand, there is also a grammar structure called identity-first language that construes disability as a function of social and political experiences occurring within a world designed largely for nondisabled people.^[9]

A

• A few sandwiches short of a picnic (which has numerous derivatives with no known original, e.g. "a few books short of a library"), a term meant to imply that a person has reduced or limited mental faculties
• Able-bodied, there is an implied value judgement comparing a person with a disability versus one without
• Abnormal^[10]
• Addict
• Afflicted
• Attention-seeking, commonly used to label someone who is suffering emotionally^[11]
• Autism or autistic, when used as an insult^[12]

B

• Batty^[13]
• Birth defect
• Blind, especially when used metaphorically (e.g., "blind to criticism") or preceded by "the",^{[6] [14] [15]} although "the blind" is considered acceptable by many blind people and organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind.^[16]
• Bonkers^[13]
• Brain damaged^[17]

C

• Challenged^[18]
• Crazy^{[6] [14] [19] [20]}
• Crazy cat lady, derogatory term typically aimed at mentally ill and neurotic women, particularly single women, spinsters who hoard cats.
• Cretin^[21]
• Cripple used to mean "a person with a physical or mobility impairment". Its shortened form, "crip" has been reclaimed by some people with disabilities as a positive identity.^{[6] [7] [15] [22]}
• Confined to a wheelchair^[7] implies helplessness, and that someone is to be pitied.

D

• Daft, consider nonsensical or feckless^{[13] [21]}
• "Deaf and dumb" or "deaf-mute"^{[6] [14] [15] [20]} or "deaf to"^[13]
• Defect, defective
• Deformed^[6]
• Delusional
• Demented, use "person with dementia"^[23]
• Deranged or mentally deranged^[6]
• Derp is considered by some sites to refer to those with intellectual disabilities.^[21]
• Differently abled^{[7] [21]}
• Dim or dim-witted
• DALYs/DFLYs/QALYs: Disability or Quality Adjusted (or Free) Life Years suggests that a nondisabled person's life years are worth more than a disabled person's^[24]
• "The Disabled" or "Disabled people" may be offensive to some,^{[1] [15] [20]} who may prefer "person with a disability" or "people with health conditions or impairments" instead.^[7] However, many people prefer "disabled person" or "disabled people", in part due to the social model of disability.^{[25] [26] [27]}
• Disorder^[28]
• Dotard^[29]
• Downie, a Dutch profanity sometimes appearing in English as "downy", used to refer to people with Down's Syndrome and generally considered derogatory^[30]
• Dumb, especially when preceded by "the"^{[15] [20]}
• Dummy and dumb, in the context of calling a person stupid or ignorant; used as a derogatory insult towards mentally disabled people; the term was once used to describe people incapable of speaking, suggestive of an insulting mannequin-like or ventriloquist's dummy-like appearance.^{[31] [32]}
• Dwarf^[23]

E

• Epileptic, especially when referring to an individual^[33]
• Exceptional^[34]

F

• Feeble-minded, sometimes shortened in slang to "feeb"^{[6] [14]}
• Fit to refer to an epileptic seizure^[6]
• Flid to refer to someone with phocomelia from birth mother's use of thalidomide^[35]
• Freak^[36]

G

• Gimp or gimpy to describe a limp^{[19] [20]}

H

• Handicapped, especially when preceded by "the" or "physically"^{[7] [14] [15]}
• Handicapable^[18]
• Hare lip^[6]
• Hearing-impaired^[37]
• Homebound^[38]
• Hunchback, or "humpback" and "Quasimodo", especially when referring to people with scoliosis or kyphosis; generated controversy after the 1990s release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.^{[39] [40] [41] [42]}
• Hyper^[18]
• Hyper-sensitive^[43]
• Hysterical, typically used in reference to women.^[44]

I

• Imbecile was the diagnostic term, used in the early 1900s, for people with IQ scores between 30 and 50. It is no longer used professionally.^[6] Before the IQ test was developed in 1905, "imbecile" was also commonly used as a casual insult towards anyone perceived as incompetent at doing something.
• Incapacitated^[6]
• Idiot was the diagnostic term used for people with IQ scores under 30 when the IQ test was first developed in the early 1900s.^{[45] [46]} It is also no longer used professionally. Before the IQ test was developed in 1905, "idiot" was also commonly used as a casual insult towards anyone perceived as incompetent at doing something.^[45]
• Illiterate, is now considered imprecise and blames the person for something caused by the condition of the educational system.^[47]
• Inmate, when referring to a psychiatric admission
• Insane^[48]
• Inspirational^[49] or inspiring, when used about somebody doing a very ordinary activity, a phenomenon of spectacle known as "inspiration porn" that is based on pity; not to be confused with legitimate public activities of mass spectacle such as Special Olympics or Paralympics, which celebrate talent without pity or mockery.
• Invalid^{[6] [14]}

J

• Junkie^[50]

L

• Lame, in reference to difficulty walking or moving. The term has since been adopted into urban slang to generally refer to something or someone as "meaningless" or "without worth", e.g. "He told us a lame excuse for why he had not done the work."^{[6] [19] [20]}
• Losing one's mind^[48]
• Losing / Lost one's marbles
• LPC – Likely to become a public charge^[51]
• Lunatic or looney^[6]

M

• Mad, madman.^{[6] [50] [48]} Some individuals with mental illness tend to use this term to change the negative stigma surrounding it (see Mad Pride)^[52]
• Mad as a hatter or "mad hatter", derogatory term (referring to a mentally ill person or a person with brain damage and dementia caused by heavy metal poisoning) popularized especially due to the fictional character of the same name^[53]
• Maniac^[6]
• Mental or mentally deficient, mental case, defective, disabled, deranged, or ill^{[6] [13] [14] [20]}
• Midget^[14]
• Mong, Mongol, Mongoloid, or Mongolism for Down syndrome.^{[6] [14] [18] [54]}
• Moron, moronic^{[6] [13]}
• Munchkin (see "Midget" above), a term derived from the 1930s feature film The Wizard of Oz which had a cast of Little Persons; explicitly referring to a Little Person as a Munchkin is considered offensive^[55]
• Mute^[18]
• Mutant, referring to someone with an uncommon genetic mutation^[56]

N

• Narc, narcissist^[11] this does not mean the same as abuser^[57]
• Not the brightest bulb / Not the sharpest tool in the shed (mentally disabled derogatory term)
• Nut, nuts, or nutter, nuthouse, etc.^{[21] [48]}

O

• Out to lunch (slang term for "crazy" or mentally ill)^{[58] [59]}

P

• Patient^[6]
• Paraplegic^[23]
• Psycho(tic)^[14]
• Psychopath, which is an old term that used to mean a person with a mental illness^[60]

Q

• Quasimodo, which translates to "half-formed" or more commonly "deformed", and made infamous by the fictional character Quasimodo, a deformed man with kyphosis who later appeared in a popular Disney film in the 1990s (see Hunchback above)^[41]

R

• Retard/Retarded^{[6] [7] [19] [20]} although before circa the 1990s this was considered acceptable by most non-disabled people and organizations.^[61] Also known as the r-word.^[62]

S

• Scatterbrained^[63]
• Schizo especially as an adjective, meaning "erratic" or "unpredictable" or, for the former two, to refer to an individual.^{[64] [65] [66] [67]}
• Schizophrenic, when referring to an individual^[23]
• Screw loose "(has a) screw loose", a British slang term that originally meant eccentric, neurotic or slightly mentally ill; generally considered offensive to mentally ill people^{[68] [69]}
• Senile^[23]
• Slow^[70]
• Sluggish^[63]
• Sociopath^[60]
• Spastic/Spaz,^{[6] [15] [20]} especially in the UK and Ireland. Previously referred to muscle spasticity or a person with cerebral palsy, which may involve muscle spasms. Also used to insult someone uncoordinated or making jerking movements.
• Special^[18]
• Special needs^[71]
• SPED,^[72] an acronym of "special ed" (short for "special education")
• Stone deaf^[73]
• Stricken^[10]
• Stupid^[74]
• Subnormal^[18]
• Supercrip^[75]
• Sufferer^{[7] [76]}

T

• Tard, short for "retard"; see retard above.^[77]
• Thick^[78]
• Tone deaf^[73]

U

• Unclean^[79]
• Unfortunate^[43]
• Unhinged^[80]

V

• Victim of an ailment^{[6] [14] [20] [76]}
• Vegetable^[81]
• Vegetative state^{[82] [83]}

W

• Wacko^[10]
• Wheelchair bound and "confined to a wheelchair", use "person who uses a wheelchair"^{[6] [7] [14] [15] [20]}
• Window licker^{[84] [85]}

Y

• "Yuppie flu", used as a pejorative term for chronic fatigue syndrome. This originated from the media stereotype of people with CFS as ambitious, young, and affluent, rather than having a genuine illness.^[86]

See also

• Ableism
• List of age-related terms with negative connotations

External links

• Disability etiquette - Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities – United Spinal Association
• Inclusive language: words to use when writing about disability - Office for Disability Issues and Department for Work and Pensions (UK)
• List of terms to avoid when writing about disability – National Center on Disability and Journalism
• Web site: Nović . Sara . The harmful ableist language you unknowingly use . BBC Worklife . 30 March 2021 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2018. Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability . 2020-06-10. gov.uk. en-gb.
2. Web site: Haller. Beth. 7 January 2016 . Journalists should learn to carefully traverse a variety of disability terminology National Center on Disability and Journalism. 2020-08-30. en-US.
3. Andrews . Erin E. . Balter . Rochelle . Forber-Pratt . Anjali J. . Lund . Emily M. . Mona . Linda R. . Pilarski . Carrie R. . 2019 . #SaytheWord: A Disability Culture Commentary on the Erasure of "Disability" . . 64 . 2 . 111–118 . 10.1037/rep0000258 . 30762412 . 2023-03-19.
4. Web site: No, You Shouldn't Call Someone 'Crazy.' But Do We Have to Ban the Word Entirely? . November 27, 2019. Gold . Jessica.
5. Web site: People-First Language: An Unholy Crusade . March 2009 . 24 January 2014 . Vaughan . C. Edwin.
6. Web site: Folkins. John . Resource on Person-First Language – The Language Used to Describe Individuals With Disabilities . . December 1992 . 24 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150511071056/http://www.asha.org/publications/journals/submissions/person_first.htm . 11 May 2015 .
7. Web site: Disability Etiquette – Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities . . 2008 . 24 January 2014.
8. Web site: I'm Not A "Person With a Disability": I'm a Disabled Person . . 9 November 2012 . 24 January 2014 . Egan . Lisa.
9. Dunn. Dana S.. Andrews. Erin E. . Person-first and identity-first language: Developing psychologists' cultural competence using disability language.. American Psychologist. en. 70. 3. 255–264 . 10.1037/a0038636. 25642702. 2015.
10. Web site: Words with Dignity . 27 August 2020. dead . 2016-04-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160418181310/http://3mc3pu3a8r0y2tbwjl479nd0.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2015_03_19_wwd_updated_FINAL.pdf . Paraquad.
11. Mollon . Anna . 2015 . The Disability Drive. en . PhD dissertation . University of California, Berkeley .
12. Web site: Kent . Tamsyn . Has 'autism' become a term of abuse? . . 6 November 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20150815163616/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8345282.stm . 2015-08-15 . dead. 30 September 2015.
13. Web site: Brown . Lydia X.Z. . Ableist words and terms to avoid. Disability Resource Center University of Arizona . https://web.archive.org/web/20210113094856/https://drc.arizona.edu/sites/drc.arizona.edu/files/documents/Ableist_Terms_To_Avoid.pdf . 2021-01-13 . dead .
14. Web site: ENC1101 First-year Composition – Guidelines for Avoiding Ableist Language . 24 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110916052857/http://faculty.mdc.edu/dmcguirk/ENC1101/ENC1101guidelinesforavoidingableistlanguage.htm . 16 September 2011 .
15. Web site: Advice for Staff – Disability Etiquette – Appropriate Language and Behaviour . Heriot-Watt University . Student Support and Accommodation . 24 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140202101359/http://www.hw.ac.uk/welfare/disability-service/staff/disability-etiquette.htm. 2 February 2014.
16. Web site: The Pitfalls of Political Correctness: Euphemisms Excoriated. Jernigan. Kenneth. March 2009. Braille Monitor . National Federation of the Blind.
17. Book: Hallowell, Brooke . Aphasia and Other Acquired Neurogenic Language Disorders: A Guide for Clinical Excellence. 2016-02-15. Plural Publishing. 978-1-59756-955-2. 38. en .
18. Web site: 2016-01-21. Guidelines: How to Write about People with Disabilities (9th edition) . 2020-08-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20200810123437/http://rtcil.org/products/media/guidelines . 2020-08-10 . live . Research & Training Center on Independent Living . University of Kansas . en.
19. Web site: The Transcontinental Disability Choir: What is Ableist Language and Why Should You Care? . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014180600/http://bitchmagazine.org/post/the-transcontinental-disability-choir-what-is-ableist-language-and-why-should-you-care . 2013-10-14 . dead. 11 November 2009 . 24 January 2014.
20. Web site: Jennifer . Gossett . Ableism and Language . Disability Access Services Blog . Oregon State University. 31 January 2012 . 24 January 2014 .
21. Web site: Ableist Language . Brown . Lydia . 16 June 2013 . 28 September 2013.
22. Web site: Clare. Eli. Thinking about the word crip. 18 January 2014.
23. Web site: 12 September 2015. Terms to Avoid When Writing About Disability . National Center on Disability and Journalism. 2020-06-09. en-US.
24. Lyttkens . C. Hampus . Time to Disable DALYs? On the Use of Disability-Adjusted Life Years in Health Policy . The European Journal of Health Economics . 4 . 3 . 2003 . 195–202 . 10.1007/s10198-003-0169-2 . 3570084. 15609185 .
25. Web site: Brown. Lydia. Identity First Language. Autistic Self Advocacy Network. 2 March 2012 .
26. Web site: Haller. Beth. Journalists should learn to carefully traverse a variety of disability terminology. National Center on Disability and Journalism.
27. Web site: Sinclair. Jim. Why I dislike Person First language. Anatomy, the Critical Journal of Interdisciplinary Autism Studies.
28. News: Escalante. Alison. Researchers Doubt That Certain Mental Disorders Are Disorders At All. 2020-08-28. Forbes. en.
29. Web site: Bryan. Chloe. September 22, 2017. What is a 'dotard,' anyway?. March 8, 2018. Mashable. At its core, "dotard" makes a judgement about a person's mental health, which is not a particularly wise thing to be doing to your peers as you dance through life..
30. Web site: No-Go . touchdown21.info . Touchdown 21 . 22 December 2022.
31. Web site: dummy . merriam-webster.com . Merriam-Webster . 23 December 2022.
32. Web site: dummy . dictionary.cambridge.org . Cambridge Dictionary . 23 December 2022.
33. Web site: Accessibility & Disability Etiquette – Accessibility. accessibility.unca.edu.
34. Web site: Disability Language Style Guide National Center on Disability and Journalism. 2020-08-28. en-US.
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36. Book: Quackenbush, Nicole . Bodies in Culture, Culture in Bodies: Disability Narratives and a Rhetoric of Resistance . ProQuest LLC . 2008 . Ann Arbor, MI . 118–127.
37. Web site: Community and Culture – Frequently Asked Questions. 2020-09-13. National Association of the Deaf. en.
38. Web site: Disability Terminology Chart. 3 September 2020. California Courts.
39. Web site: humpback noun . merriam-webster.com . Merriam-Webster . 22 December 2022.
40. Web site: Knight-Ridder . Kathi Wolfe . Another Burden For The Disabled . spokesman.com . The Spokesman Review . 22 December 2022.
41. Web site: Associated Press . Quasimodo: Hunchback No More . cbsnews.com . 28 June 2002 . CBS News . 22 December 2022.
42. Web site: Hunchback . medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com . The Free Dictionary by Farlex . 22 December 2022.
43. Web site: National Youth Leadership Network. Respectful Disability Language: Here's What's Up!. 28 October 2020. Association of University Centers on Disabilities..
44. Web site: Female Hysteria . BellaOnline . 24 January 2014 . Cowley . Gina.
45. .
46. .
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48. News: Crazy talk: The language of mental illness stigma . The Guardian . 6 September 2012 . 19 September 2016 . Steele . David.
49. Book: Ellis. Katie. Disability and Social Media: Global Perspectives. Kent. Mike. 2016-11-10. Taylor & Francis. 978-1-317-15028-2. 42. en.
50. Book: Kanigel, Rachele. The Diversity Style Guide. 2019-01-14. John Wiley & Sons. 978-1-119-05507-5. 242–243. en . Google Books.
51. Baynton . Douglas C. . Defectives in the Land: Disability and American Immigration Policy, 1882-1924 . Journal of American Ethnic History . 2005 . 24 . 3 . 31–44 . 10.2307/27501596 . 27501596 . 254496018 . 0278-5927.
52. News: Gabrielle Glaser. May 11, 2008 . 'Mad Pride' Fights a Stigma. The New York Times . March 26, 2024.
53. Web site: Larson . Remi . "Mad Hatter" Perpetuates Stigma around Mental Illness . activeminds.org . 26 October 2016 . Active Minds . 22 December 2022.
54. News: Kenber. Billy. Ricky Gervais: I was wrong about 'mong'. . en. 2020-07-19. 0140-0460.
55. Web site: Matthews . Robert Guy . Munchkin stereotype a big issue; Image: The little people point out that caricatures have largely disappeared from popular culture, but not for them. . The Baltimore Sun . 16 February 1999 . 23 December 2022.
56. Book: Hargrave, Matt. Theatres of Learning Disability: Good, Bad, or Plain Ugly?. 2015-06-23. Springer. 978-1-137-50439-5. 254. en.
57. Web site: ((Melody (contributor))) . Wilding. November 2018. I'm a professor of human behavior, and I have some news for you about the 'narcissists' in your life. 2020-06-10. Business Insider.
58. Web site: Ask the Editor Out to lunch . britannica.com . The Britannica Dictionary . 22 December 2022.
59. Web site: out to lunch phrase . merriam-webster.com . Merriam-Webster . 22 December 2022.
60. Web site: Gratton. Korina. 4 December 2019. LibGuides: Ableism: Ableist Language. 2020-06-10. libguides.ufv.ca. en.
61. Web site: The Rise and Fall of "Mentally Retarded" – Member Feature Stories. Hodges. Rick. Medium. 2018-10-12.
62. Book: Andrews, Erin E.. Disability as Diversity: Developing Cultural Competence. 2019-11-01. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-065232-6. 76. en.
63. Web site: Wedge. Marilyn . What to do when your Child is Scatterbrained. 2020-09-05. Psychology Today. en-US.
64. Politically Correct Labels and Schizophrenia: A Rose by Any Other Name? . Penn . David L. . Nowlin-Drummond . Amy . Schizophrenia Bulletin . 2001 . 27 . 2 . 197–203 . 10.1093/oxfordjournals.schbul.a006866. 11354587 . free .
65. Web site: OCD, bipolar, schizophrenic and the misuse of mental health terms . . 10 October 2011 . 24 January 2014 . Kelly . Jon . Winterman . Denise.
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67. Web site: The Free Dictionary - Schizo . 24 January 2014.
68. Web site: Definition of 'have a screw loose' . collinsdictionary.com . Collins Dictionary . 22 December 2022.
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73. Web site: deaf - Wiktionary. 2020-08-28. en.wiktionary.org.
74. Web site: Ravishankar . Rakshitha Arni . 15 December 2020 . Why You Need to Stop Using These Words and Phrases . limited . https://web.archive.org/web/20201215183151/https://hbr.org/2020/12/why-you-need-to-stop-using-these-words-and-phrases . 15 December 2020 . 18 February 2023 . . Harvard Business School Publishing.
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