2. DISABILITY STATISTICS

The following chart, based on U.S. Census statistics from 1997, indicates the prevalence of selected disabilities in the United States among individuals age 15 and older. The information reflected in this chart is based on the Census Bureau's SIPP (Survey of Income and Program Participation).

"The [SIPP] survey design is a continuous series of national panels, with sample size ranging from approximately 14,000 to 36,700 interviewed households. The duration of each panel ranges from 2 1/2 years to 4 years. The SIPP sample is a multistage-stratified sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. For the 1984-1993 panels, a panel of households was introduced each year in February. A 4-year panel was introduced in April 1996. A 2000 panel was introduced in February 2000 for 2 waves. A 3-year 2001 panel was introduced in February 2001."¹²⁴

Categories of individuals	# in thousands	% distribution
Individuals with a disability	47,935	23.0
Individuals with:
Difficulty seeing words/letters	7,673	3.7
Difficulty hearing conversation	7,966	3.8
Difficulty with speech	2,270	1.1
Difficulty walking/using stairs	25,138	12.1
Used a wheelchair	2,155	1.0
Used a cane/crutches/walker	6,372	3.1
Mental disability	14,267	6.9
Learning disability	3,451	1.7
Mental retardation	1,366	0.7
Alzheimer's/senility/dementia	1,873	0.9
Other mental/emotional condition	3,418	1.6

August-November 1997 data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation¹²⁵

3. DISABILITY TERMINOLOGY¹²⁶

The disability community generally emphasizes the individuality of people with disabilities, not their disability. The term "handicapped" has fallen into disuse and should be avoided. The terms "able-bodied," "physically challenged" and "differently abled" are also discouraged. The following are some recommendations:

Never use the article "THE" with an adjective to describe people with disabilities. The preferred usage, "people with disabilities," stresses the essential humanity of individuals and avoids objectification. Alternatively, the term "disabled people" is acceptable, but still defines individuals as disabled, first, and people second." The term "hearing impaired" should also be used with caution as it is perceived by many to be a term that implies that the individual is in some way "broken" and needs to be "fixed." Instead, the term, "deaf or hard of hearing," can be used.

Use:	People who are deaf People who are hard of hearing People who are deaf or hard of hearing
Not:	the deaf deaf-mutes deaf and dumb
Use:	People who are blind People with low vision People who are visually impaired
Not:	the visually impaired
Use:	People with disabilities
Not:	the disabled

To refer to a person's disability, choose the correct terminology for the specific disability. The following terms are examples of appropriate terms to describe people with disabilities.

People who are: blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, mentally retarded. People with, or who have: Cerebral Palsy, Down's Syndrome, mental illness, paraplegia, quadriplegia, partial hearing loss, seizure disorder, specific learning disability, speech impairment, speech disability.

Be careful not to imply that people with disabilities are to be pitied, feared or ignored, or that they are somehow more heroic, courageous, patient, or "special" than others. Never use the term "normal" in contrast.

Use:	Trina qualified for her "Swimmer" certificate.
Not:	Trina held her own while swimming with normal children.

A person in a wheelchair is a "wheelchair user" or "uses a wheelchair." Avoid terms that define the disability as a limitation such as "confined to a wheelchair" or "wheelchair-bound." A wheelchair liberates; it doesn't confine.

Never use the terms "victim" or "sufferer" to refer to a person who has had a disease or disability. This term dehumanizes the person and emphasizes powerlessness.

Use:	person with HIV/AIDS
Not:	victim of AIDS or AIDS sufferer.

Use:	had polio
Not:	polio victim