The language used to describe disability varies, and it is vital to acknowledge the numerous definitions and contexts for a given term. The disability community may reclaim some terms, but the terms are not acceptable for use by non-members. It is also important to note that some scholars and activists separate ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’ as two different concepts, where impairment is the neurological or physical manifestation of their diagnosis and disability is the barrier to access created by the inaccessible design of places and systems and exclusion from society. Avoid using phrases such as “wheelchair bound” or “confined” to a wheelchair, as people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices are not confined but freed by such devices. In this guide, unless otherwise noted, the language used is preferred by people with disabilities, including activists and scholars.
Some members of the disability community use identity-first to embrace their identity. An example of this would be someone who prefers to be called a Deaf person rather than a person who is Deaf. Advocates of person-first language argue that members of the disability community are people first and should not be defined by their disability. As stated earlier, language preference varies, and it is always better to ask what the person prefers or, if unable to ask, use the preferred language of the community.
ABLEISM: systematized discrimination, antagonism, or exclusion directed against disabled people based on the belief that "normal" ability is superior. Ableism involves both denying access to disabled people and exclusive attitudes of nondisabled persons.
CHRONIC ILLNESS: a long-term health condition that may not have a cure.
COMPLEX EMBODIMENT THEORY: Tobin Siebers was a disability studies scholar who developed the notion of complex embodiment. This theory proposes that the lived experiences of people with disabilities are varied, complex, and nuanced. Individuals experience disability in different ways and the community cannot be reduced to a single experience. In his 2010 article titled "Disability and the Theory of Complex Embodiment —For Identity Politics in a New Register,” Siebers writes, "Disability creates theories of embodiment more complex than the ideology of ability allows, and these many embodiments are each crucial to the understanding of humanity and its variations, whether physical, mental, social, or historical. The ultimate purpose of complex embodiment as theory is to give disabled people greater knowledge of and control over their bodies in situations where increased knowledge and control are possible."
DISABILITY: a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that interferes with, or limits a person's ability to engage in certain tasks or actions or participate in typical daily activities and interactions.
DISABLED: Someone who is impacted by a cognitive, physical, developmental, and/or mental condition.
SPOONS: A colloquial term used by some people with chronic illness, especially pain, to describe how much energy they have to spare for daily tasks or activities.
NEURODIVERSITY: the concept that differences in brain functioning within the human population are normal and that brain functioning that is not neurotypical should not be stigmatized.
Defining disability is complicated, as the definition of disability is not consistent across agencies or sources. The disability community places importance on self-identification. For example, some members of the Autistic and Deaf communities do not refer to themselves as being disabled at all. Some definitions from dictionaries often leave out the complexity or root of the state or attitude being defined. One example is the definition of ableism, which focuses solely on physical barriers and not behavior. Disability can also occur at any stage of life, like birth, after an illness/accident, or with aging. Groups and even individuals define disability differently
In Library of Congress classification, the heading "Disability studies" refers to study and teaching about people with disabilities; it has the variant labels "People with disabilities--Study and teaching" and "Sociology of disability--Study and teaching". LC classifies institutions under the headings "Intellectual disability facilities", which subdivides geographically (e.g. "Intellectual disability facilities--United States").
You may notice that Library of Congress subject headings are very general and do not accurately portray the complexities of disability studies. When looking for more specific keywords, try a keyword database like https://homosaurus.org/ or the list of other keywords below.
If you’re looking for specific readings or theorizations of a topic, try combining your keyword with frequently paired terms like: