I am writing to comment on a part of the article entitled “Candidates Emphasize Handicapped Accessibility” published on April 10. I am attaching a copy of one of my biographical sketches if you’d like to tell your audience who I am and why this is important to me.
I appreciate most of the content and focus of the article, but I’d like to point out that in many circles of the community of people with disabilities, the term “handicapped” is not only offensive but extremely misleading.
As a blind person since birth, I have always struggled with some of the labels often associated with those of us with obvious physical disabilities. You might ask, “What’s in a name or title?” and my response would be: everything. Over the years, many have tried to replace the term “handicapped” with terms like “handicapable,” “physically challenged” and even “differently abled,” which is my current favorite.
I will admit that not everybody in the community supports or appreciates what is called “people first language,” i.e. “people with disabilities” which emphasizes the person first, and I admit that I am not a big fan of political correctness. However, at a minimum, the term “handicapped” is outdated and as I said before, quite misleading. I mean for example, probably anyone reading this letter if placed in the right situation could become handicapped in some way.
I like the term “differently abled” because it doesn’t over-emphasize the “dis” in “disability” and it suggests and implies that I may do some things differently but given the proper training and opportunity, I can be just as “abled” as anyone else.
I applaud all that the city and these candidates are attempting to do as it relates to issues of accessibility in our community. It is important, though, that the proper labels and language are utilized in conjunction with these very positive efforts.
Additionally, I hope that the candidates and all concerned will broaden this conversation to include more than just “repairing cracks in the sidewalk” and “more curb cuts.”
Without a doubt, these are important issues for people with mobility impairments, but what about the rest of us? For example, people often ask me: “Do you have any trouble getting around campus or Athens?” And I quite frankly often respond to them by saying, “I’ve traveled in very large cities mostly alone and so for me, getting around any part of this area is really not very difficult at all from a mobility perspective.”
Most of my issues as a blind person have to do with information accessibility and people’s often erroneous attitudes about my capabilities to perform certain tasks. I am sure that people who are deaf and hearing-impaired have specific issues relative to their independence and thus would like those addressed as well.
Therefore, in an effort to make this conversation as thorough and inclusive as possible, let’s use the labels and titles preferred by those referred to and let’s try to engage as diverse a dialogue as is possible as we go forward.
JW Smith is an associate professor and interim associate director for undergraduate studies in the school of communication studies at Ohio University.
