List of disability-related terms with negative connotations

The following is a list of terms used to describe disabilities or people with disabilities that may be considered negative and/or offensive by people with or without disabilities.

There is a great deal of disagreement as to what should be considered offensive. Views vary with geography and culture, over time, and among individuals. Many terms that some people view as offensive are not viewed as offensive by others, and even where some people are offended by certain terms, others may be offended 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 offend people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms used with non-offensive intent.

For some terms, the grammar structure of their use determine if they are offensive. The people first stance advocates for saying "people with disabilities" instead of "the disabled" or "a person who is deaf" instead of "a deaf person".^[1][2][3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5]

A

• Autism or autistic, when used as an insult.^[6]

B

• Blind, especially when used metaphorically (e.g., "blind to criticism") or preceded by "the".^[2][7][8] (Although "the blind" is considered acceptable by many blind people, and organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind).^[9]

C

• Crazy, especially when used to describe something incredible or ridiculous.^{[2][7][10][11]}
• Cretin^[12]
• Cripple used to mean "a person with a physical or mobility impairment." Its shortened form, "crip" is reclaimed by some people with disabilities as a positive identity.^{[2][3][8][13]}

D

• Daft^[12]
• "Deaf and dumb" or "deaf-mute"^{[2][7][8][11]}
• Deformed^[2]
• Delusional^[14]
• Derp is considered by some sites to refer to those with intellectual disabilities.^[12]
• Differently abled^[12]
• Dim or dim-witted^[14]
• "The Disabled" or "Disabled people" are considered offensive by some (who prefer "person with a disability"),^[8][11] while others actually prefer this.^[15][16][17]
• Dotard^[18]
• Dumb, especially when preceded by "the".^[8][11]

E

• Epileptic, especially when referring to an individual^[19]

F

• Feeble-minded^[2][7]
• Fit to refer to an epileptic seizure.^[2]
• Freak^[14][20]
• Fucktard, portmanteau of 'fuck-wit' and 'retard'.^[21][22]

G

• Gimp or gimpy to describe a limp.^[10][11]

H

• Handicapped, especially when preceded by "the" or "physically".^[3][7][8]
• Hare lip^[2]
• Hysterical, typically used in reference to women.^[23]

I

• Imbecile was the diagnostic term for people with IQ scores between 30–50 in the early 1900s.^[24] It is no longer used professionally.^[2] Before to the IQ test was developed in 1905, "imbecile" was also commonly used as a casual insult towards anyone perceived as incompetent at doing something.^[24]
• Incapacitated^[2]
• Idiot was the diagnostic term used for people with IQ scores under 30 when the IQ test was first developed in the early 1900s.^[24][25] 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.^[24]
• Insane^[14]
• Invalid^[2][7]

L

• Lame. A 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."^[2][10][11]
• Losing one's mind^[14]
• Lunatic or looney^[2]

M

• Mad^[2][14]
• Maniac^[2]
• Mental or mentally deficient, defective, disabled, deranged, or ill^[2][7][11]
• Midget^[7]
• Mongol, Mongoloid, or Mongolism for Down syndrome.^[2][7]
• Moron^[2]

N

• Nut, nuts, or nutter^[12][14]

P

• Patient^[2]
• Psycho(tic)^[7]

R

• Retard/Retarded (Tard, Fucktard)^{[2][3][10][11]} (although before circa the 1990s this was considered acceptable by most non-disabled people and organizations.^[26])

S

• Schizo especially as an adjective, meaning "erratic" or "unpredictable" or, for the former two, to refer to an individual.^{[27][28][29][30]}
• Spastic/Spaz/Spakka^[2][8][11]
  • See the article on the word for the dramatically different connotations of the term in Commonwealth and North American English. The term is extremely offensive in Commonwealth English, especially in the UK, but far less so in North America.

T

• Tard, short for "retard"; see retard above.^[31]

V

• Victim of an ailment.^{[2][3][7][11]}
• Vegetable^[32]

W

• Wheelchair bound^{[2][3][7][8][11]}
• Window licker^[33]

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, and having an illness indistinguishable from influenza, neither of which is an accurate portrayal.^[34]

References

External links

• Disability etiquette: appropriate language and behavior
• Terminology tips