Disability and Mental Health History

See also Alexandra F. Morris and Debby Sneed, Society for Classical Studies  – Blog: A Brief Guide to Disability Terminology and Theory in Ancient World Studies

Term	Contextual note	References
able-bodied able bodied abled differently able/d specially able/d able healthy normal typical whole	Some members of the disability community oppose the use of “able-bodied” because it implies that all people with disabilities lack “able bodies”. “Typical” is preferred but still contentious.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide [1] APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals [2] Disability in Kidlit - Introduction to disability terminology Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines National Down Syndrome Society - Preferred Language Guide UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
abnormal/ity subnormal not normal atypical mutant/s	Derogatory when used to describe an individual. Can be appropriate in a medical context i.e. “abnormal curvature of the spine”	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability
addict/ion alcoholic alcoholism junkie substance abuse clean/ dirty intravenous drug abuser	Refers to uncontrollable, compulsive use of substances as well as acts such as gambling and sex in the face of negative social and health consequences. Not all people who misuse substances have an addiction.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
afflicted with suffering from suffers from sufferer stricken with survivor battle victim unfortunate	Carries the assumption that people with disabilities have a reduced quality of life. Can refer to any person with a disability. Frequently untrue that the person in question is “suffering”. Avoid descriptions that connote pity.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journal National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Disability in Kidlit - Introduction to disability terminology Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
airing court	A walled garden area leading off from 19th century asylum wards where patients were allowed to exercise without fear of “escape”	Historic England - Disability Glossary
albino/s	Albinism typically refers to oculocutaneous albinism (OCA), a group of inherited disorders that results in little or no production of the pigment melanin. There is debate over whether albinism is a disability.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
alienist	An early 19th century word for the medical professional now known as a psychiatrist	Historic England - Disability Glossary
alms	Charitable donations of food or money to the poor or those considered unable to look after themselves	Historic England - Disability Glossary
almshouse	Homes built, from the medieval period onwards, to shelter elderly, disabled or other people considered unable to look after themselves	Historic England - Disability Glossary
ambulant disabled	Refers to people who have a disability but are able to walk and do not use a wheelchair	Historic England - Disability Glossary
American Sign Language ASL sign language BSL British Sign Language signer interpreter	A signer may be able to communicate conversationally with a deaf person but may not necessarily possess the skills and expertise to accurately interpret complex dialogue or information, as an interpreter would. British Sign Language (BSL) is the sign language used in the UK and preferred language of many deaf people in the UK	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability Historic England - Disability Glossary
amputee	Considered derogatory when incorrectly used to label a person with a physical characteristic that is not the result of an amputation. Some prefer “limb difference”.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals
attendant	A 19th and 20th century term for staff working with patients in asylums and workhouses	Historic England - Disability Glossary
attention-deficit disorder (ADD) attention deficit disorder attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder hyper/lazy	Some debate exists as to the accuracy of an ADHD diagnosis as an actual disorder. ADD isn’t a standalone diagnosis anymore. ADHD is split into three sub diagnoses: ADHD-PI (predominantly inattentive, formerly ADD); ADHD-PH (predominantly hyperactive); and ADHD-C (combined). Sometimes written as deficit/hyperactivity disorder and abbreviated as AD(H)D.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Wikipedia - List of disability-related terms with negative connotations NHS - ADHD
autism autistic Autism spectrum disorder ASD Asperger’s syndrome Aspie	Autistic spectrum disorder is a group of complex disorders related to brain development. Ableist when used to refer to somebody who does not have autism. Some experts classify autism as a developmental disorder rather than a mental illness. Some people with autism prefer the term ‘aspie’, some abhor it. Some do not classify it as a disorder at all, just a different way of processing information.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed) Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
barren	Ableist when used to refer to people who are infertile. Also carries sexist connotations.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
Bedlam Bethlem	Popular names used by the public for the Royal Bethlehem Hospital in London, the first English institution for people with mental illness	Historic England - Disability Glossary
Billies in Bowls	An 18th century slang expression to describe disabled people who moved themselves around by sitting in a small wooden bowl and propelling themselves with two small wooden blocks.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
bipolar bipolar disorder manic depressive illness	Formerly known as “manic depressive illness”, bipolar disorder is characterised by unusually intense shifts in emotion, energy, behaviour and activity levels in what are called mood episodes. Ableist when used as an adjective to substitute  “switching very rapidly”, “indecisive”, or “shifting from one extreme to another”.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
blind legally blind limited vision partially sighted visually impaired visually challenged left blind from the accident	Many people with vision loss are not considered legally blind (a person with 20/200 visual acuity or less [USA]) Some people who are blind consider themselves visual thinkers so regard “visually impaired” or “visually challenged” as derogatory	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed) University of Arizona – Ableist words and terms to avoid
blind to… turn a blind eye… blinded by ignorance double-blind review	Metaphorical references to low-vision or limited-sightedness.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
blynde	Early English word for “blind”	Historic England - Disability Glossary
Board of Control (for lunacy and mental deficiency)	Government body established under the Mental Deficiency Act 1913 to replace the Lunacy Commission, and to oversee the treatment of mentally ill people and people with learning disabilities	Historic England - Disability Glossary
bonkers crazy crazed batty cuckoo mental case deranged nuts nutter nutjob nutso maniac	Ableist when literally used to refer to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Also derogatory when metaphorically used to mean “like a crazy person”.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Wikipedia - List of disability-related terms with negative connotations Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines University of Arizona – Ableist words and terms to avoid
Braidwoodian system combined system	A form of sign language (also known as the combined system) introduced by Thomas Braidwood, who set up the first academy for the deaf and dumb in London in 1783.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
brain damage/d	Traumatic brain injury would be the medically correct term	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
burn victim/s	Refers to people who have survived burns and have visible scars from burns. Not considered derogatory by all.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
Care in the community	A system of care and support for people with disabilities and people with mental illness based on the belief that people should live in their communities rather than in separate institutions. The Care in the Community green paper of 1981 signalled the end of the asylum era.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
caretaker/s care-taker	You take care of property, you give care to people	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
catatonia catatonic	Catatonia is a state in which a person does not move and does not respond to others. It is often used informally to describe someone who is in a stupor-like condition.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
Cerebral palsied (LCSH)	Cerebral-palsied (and related terms like Cerebral-palsied children) is an uncommonly used term and not in line with the person-first language used in most LCSH.	Cataloging Lab - Problem LCSH
charitable asylum	An asylum established as an independent charity through the voluntary efforts of members of the public. Popular at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries before state asylums became the norm.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
chemophobic idiopathic environmental tolerance	Also known as “toxicant-induced loss of tolerance”, “environmental illness”, or “sick-building syndrome”.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
chronic illness chronic disease chronic health condition’ chronic disease	Defined as a health condition lasting three months or longer, including illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, HIV/AIDs, heart disease, and heart disease. There is debate about whether someone with chronic illness has a disability.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
chronic lunatic	A 19th century term for a person with mental illness who is perceived as unlikely to recover from their illness	Historic England - Disability Glossary
colony	A type of asylum institution established by the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act where both adults and children with learning disabilities lives in a “village” arrangement of a number of “villas” each housing up to 60 people	Historic England - Disability Glossary
comfortable works	Church teaching of the medieval period which encouraged people to support and give alms to poor and disabled people as a means of speeding their passage to heaven	Historic England - Disability Glossary
confined to a wheelchair	Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. Considered ableist because many wheelchair-users experience mobility aids as liberating, rather than as confining or restricting as this phrasing suggests.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability University of Arizona – Ableist words and terms to avoid
congenital disability	Congenital is defined as existing from birth, it is not interchangeable with “genetic”
conglomerate asylum	A form of asylum consisting of miscellaneous structures, without any real unity of style and often composed of buildings of widely varying ages	Historic England - Disability Glossary
corridor asylum	A form of asylum consisting of a series of connecting corridors with wards and other rooms opening them off	Historic England - Disability Glossary
cretin	Outdated term for people with intellectual disabilities
cripple/s crippled by crip supercrip creple	Derogatory term for people with physical or mobility disabilities. Also derogatory when metaphorically used to mean “like a person with a physical disability”. The term was widely used until the second half of the 20th century, until it came to be used pejoratively and or abusively. “Creple” is the Early English form.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability University of Arizona – Ableist words and terms to avoid Historic England - Disability Glossary
crooked/ness	An early English term to describe people seen as misshapen in their bodily form	Historic England - Disability Glossary
daft moron moronic simpleton slow delayed developmental delay challenged stupid stupor dumb daft dimwitted dim witted dim dim-witted	Ableist terms used to refer to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Also harmful when metaphorically used to mean “like a person with a mental disability”	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid University of Arizona –Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
deaf Deaf hearing impaired (LCSH) hearing impairment Deaff	“Deaf” should be used as an adjective, not a noun; it describes a person with profound or complete hearing loss. Deaf refers to a degree of hearing loss that is significant enough to prevent understanding speech through the ear. Many dislike the term “hearing impaired” because it describes a person in terms of a deficiency or what they cannot do. Deaf (capital “D”) refers to the culture and community of Deaf people that use ASL or BSL. Many people in the Deaf community prefer the use of lowercase “d” to refer to audiological status. Some people with mild or moderate hearing loss may affiliate themselves with the Deaf community and prefer the term deaf. Alternatively, some who are deaf and don’t have a cultural affiliation to the Deaf community may prefer the term “hard of hearing”. Additionally, “‘hard of hearing” may refer to any hearing condition that can be helped by an auditory device, according to the University of Washington. The early English form is “Deaff”	Boyd, Kyle ‘Visibility for Disability Digitization Project’ Digital Commonwealth Conference, April 2020 Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed) Cataloging Lab - Problem LCSH National Association of the Deaf - Community and Culture FAQ
deaf-blind	Indicates a person who has some loss of vision and hearing.
deaf-mute deaf and dumb deaf-and-dumb	Avoid these terms as they are often used inaccurately and offensively.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
deaf to… turn a deaf ear to…	Metaphorical references to people who are hard of hearing.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
deluded delusional	Refers to people with psychosocial disabilities, when experiencing altered states such as hearing voices, having intrusive thoughts, or experiencing paranoia. Also ableist when metaphorically used to mean “like a person with a mental disability”	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
demented dements dementia senile senility Alzheimer’s Huntington’s Parkinson’s	Dementia is not a specific illness; Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. The terms “senile” and “senility” denote conditions brought on by aging and are often used incorrectly to denote dementia.	Wikipedia - List of disability-related terms with negative connotations
depressed depressing	Refers to people experiencing various forms of depression (major depressive disorder), including seasonal affective disorder, psychotic depression, and postpartum depression. This becomes ableist when not referring to people actually experiencing depression, but merely a shorthand for sad, upsetting, or disappointing.
derp herp-derp herpderp der durr duh doy	Sounds meant to mock vocalisations that people with intellectual disabilities are stereotyped as making.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Wikipedia - List of disability-related terms with negative connotations
developmental disability DD intellectual disability ID IDD mentally retarded	Developmental disability is an umbrella term for a number of life-long conditions apparent before a person reaches the age of 22. Many people with a developmental disability do not have an intellectual disability. An intellectual disability is a developmental disability defined by substantial limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour that are apparent during the developmental period (0-22). The acronym “IDD” is used to refer to a group that includes people with an ID or DD, or both.	University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
Down’s Syndrome Down’s Down disease	National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) uses the preferred spelling, Down syndrome. The condition is named after the English physician John Langdon Down, who did not have the condition. An apostrophe connotes ownership or possession. Down syndrome is a condition or syndrome, not a disease.	National Down Syndrome Society - Preferred Language Guide
disabled people	Contended by some on the grounds that it implies a person as a whole is disabled.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
dissociative identity disorder
narcissistic	Refers to various neurotypes and psychosocial disabilities, like antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorders	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
diversability diversabled	“Diversability” is a term coined by Tiffany Yu, a disability advocate. The intention is to frame disability within broader discussions about diversity.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
dumb	Refers to d/Deaf or hard of hearing people, people with speech-related disabilities, or people with linguistic or communication disorders or disabilities. Also ableist when used as a metaphorical reference meaning “like a person with a mental disability”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
dumbe	An early English word for a person unable to speak.  From the mediaeval period until the 18th century it could signify that a person was deaf as well as unable to speak.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
Dwarfs (LCSH)	In the USA, people with Dwarfism is preferred. There's been a move to separate the LCSH term into two categories - dwarves in folklore and people with dwarfism.	Cataloging Lab - Problem LCSH Metadata blog [3]
dyslexia dyslexic		National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
epileptic/s an epileptic had a fit an epileptic fit fit spells attacks		APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability
eugenic/s eugenicist deterioration deteriorated egeneration degenerate	A movement prevalent in the later half of the 19th century (the temr “eugenics” was coined in 1883) and first half of the 20th century. Based on the writings of Francis Galton, eugenicists believed in the sterilisation or even euthanasia of disabled people and others such as the mentally ill or “morally degenerate” to prevent what they described as racial deterioration.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
facilitated communication	A discredited communication technique. “Augmentative and alternative communication” is the term used to refer to alternative methods that allow for written and spoken expression, this is very different from facilitated communication.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
falling sickness	An outdated term for epilepsy	Historic England - Disability Glossary
feeble-minded feeble minded	Refers to people with mental, psychiatric, intellectual, or developmental disabilities A term used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to describe people who would be described today as having moderate or mild learning disabilities or, as it was known at the time, “high grade mental deficiency”	Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines Historic England - Disability Glossary
fool/s foolish natural fool/s	Early English word usually used to denote a person we would recognise as having a learning disability today. Could also sometimes be used to denote a mentally ill person. Also described people in the role of jester, but distinction was made between “artificial fools”, people pretending to be foolish, and “natural fools”, people “born foolish”.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
freak/s freak show	The use of this derogatory word dates to the mid-19th century. “Freak shows” were popular across Europe, especially in the late 19th century and early 20th century. London’s Piccadilly Circus was a hub. Term used particularly between 1850 and 1914 to describe human performers in the popular Freak Shows and Circuses (also known as Human Zoos) of the period, who were exhibited because of their unusual bodily shapes or ‘deformities’	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines Historic England - Disability Glossary
furious	Used in the 18th and 19th centuries to describe mentally ill people who are in a state of agitation or who are perceived to be potentially violent	Historic England - Disability Glossary
genetic defect/s genetic disorder/s	A genetic condition is congenital, but a congenital condition is not necessarily genetic. Avoid derogatory words like “defect” and “disorder”	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
gifted twice exceptional 2E	“Twice exceptional” has been used to describe children diagnosed with one or more disability who have also been identified as “gifted”, meaning they excel in either intellectual, creative, or artistic fields. This terminology is controversial.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
go cart	18th century slang term to describe a disabled beggar who used a wooden box on wheels to move around	Historic England - Disability Glossary
handicap handicapped handicapable	Refers to people with physical or mobility disabilities. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the term “handicap” was used to describe a person’s “deficit” or inability to function “‘normally”. Beginning in the 1970s this concept of “deficit” and related words like “handicapped” became increasingly contested. “Handicapable” was coined by the writers of television show Glee in 2009 – its use is relatively rare.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
happens to have happens to be happens to use	Implies a disability is incidental, even when the disability is the topic at hand, stemming from the idea that disability is inherently negative.	Disability in Kidlit - Introduction to disability terminology
harelip hare-lip	Derogatory term referring to people with cleft-lift palate or similar facial deformities/cosmetic disabilities. The term “hare lip” is anatomically incorrect and stigmatising.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
high functioning high-functioning high functioning autism low functioning low-functioning	The term does not convey any useful information. “High functioning autism” is not a medical diagnosis. Considered derogatory to people with Down syndrome.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Disability in Kidlit - Introduction to disability terminology Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
homebound
hysterical hysteria	Sexist language typically used in reference to women in reference to an inability to control emotions. Hysteria is a Victorian-era medical condition that was more often diagnosed in women.It wasn't removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until 1980. Today, people exhibiting hysterical symptoms might be diagnosed with a dissociative or somatic disorder or what is called “conversion disorder”.
[identity-first language] identity first language IFL person- first language person first language PFL	Unlike people-first language, identity-first language mentions the disability before the person i.e. “Down syndrome girl” or “autistic boy”. There is a large group of disabled people who actively prefer not to use person-first language. For example, these people may identify as “disabled” because they feel that society disables them, but that does not mean they view their condition itself as a disability. Others dislike disability being treated differently, as if people are dancing around the topic. i.e. we would say “blonde girl” so why not “disabled girl”? For some people with multiple disabilities, they may describe themselves as a “mentally ill person with epilepsy” or “an autistic person with mental illness”. Often, caretakers and professionals lean towards person-first language whereas people in the disability community lean towards identity-first language. There are also regional differences. IFL is preferred in the UK and Europe, PFL is more common in the USA.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Disability in Kidlit - Introduction to disability terminology
idiot/s idiotic idiocy dull witted dull-witted	Derogatory terms for people with intellectual disabilities. Also discriminatory when used as a metaphor to mean “like a person with a mental disability”. The diagnostic term “idiot” was used for people with IQ scores under 30 in the early 20th century. When classification systems were introduced in the 19th century, “idiot” was used to denote the lowest rank of intelligence and functional ability, similar to what we would define as a profound learning disability today. In earlier English the term “idiot” was used to describe “dull witted” people who could be seen as broadly equivalent to what we would defined as having a learning disability, but could be used in a wider sense to describe the labouring classes and the peasantry. Today, the term “idiot” is used pejoratively or abusively.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines Mark Rapley, The Social Construction of Intellectual Disability Historic England - Disability Glossary
imbecile/s	The diagnostic term for people with IQ scores between 30 and 50 in the early 20th century (see “idiot” above). When classification systems were introduced in the 19th century, “imbecile” was used to denote the medium rank of intelligence and functional ability amongst people with learning disabilities, between “idiot” and “moron”. Similar to what we would define as a severe learning disability today. In the 19th century could also be used to describe a person with mental illness. Today used pejoratively or abusively.	Mark Rapley, The Social Construction of Intellectual Disability Historic England - Disability Glossary
impotent	In its early English sense, “iImpotent” referred to people considered unable to look after themselves for reasons of age, infirmity, or disability. The “impotent poor” were distinguished from the “able bodied” poor in legislation.	Historic England - Disability Glossary
injury injuries		National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
insanes insane insanity	General term, still in use but not as widely as in the past, to denote mental illness. Tends to be associated with criminal or highly irrational behaviour rather than lower level illness. Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. In US criminal law, insanity is a legal question, not a legal one. Also derogatory when used as a metaphor to mean “like a person with a mental disability”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Historic England - Disability Glossary
insane asylum asylum nuthouse loony bin institution madhouse	Asylums began as charitable institutions in England in the late 18th century, built and provided by the state from 1815.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines Historic England - Disability Glossary
Invalids (LCSH) Invalid	Disabled people	AceDisability Network [4]
keeper	In the 16th and 17th centuries, referred to any male carer and did not imply any qualification	Historic England - Disability Glossary
lame lamebrain	Derogatory slang for people with physical or mobility disabilities. Also ableist when metaphorically used to mean “uncool”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Arizona – Ableist words and terms to avoid
Leprosy (LCSH) leper/s	Hansen’s disease.	Cataloging Lab - Problem LCSH The Lancet [5]
lunatic loony looney loon lunacy	Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Also offensive when used as a metaphor to mean ‘like a person with a mental disability’.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
mad madman losing one’s mind	Also offensive when used as a metaphor to mean “like a person with a mental disability”. The term “Mad” has been reclaimed by some i.e. The Mad Pride Movement	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
manic manic depression Maniamanic-depressive illness (LCSH)	Refers to someone with bipolar disorder (used to be called “manic depression”). Also ableist when used as a metaphor to mean “like a person with a mental disability”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Cataloging Lab - Problem LCSH
Mental disabilities (LCSH) Mentally handicapped	Intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities. “Mentally handicapped” is an older LCSH.
mental mental case mental defective the mentally ill	Also ableist when used as a metaphor to mean “like a person with a mental disability”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
mild severe severely disabled	These terms tell you little about the actual disabled person, instead highlighting which skills, abilities, and needs society views favourably and unfavourably. Functioning labels like “severe” have consistently been used in defense of ableist abuse and even murder.	Disability in Kidlit - Introduction to disability terminology
Mongoloid mongoloidism mong mongo	An outdated and derogatory term used to describe a so-called racial type and a person with the genetic condition Down Syndrome. In modern day usage the term is used as a slur to describe someone regarded as “retarded”. The slur derives from the belief that people with Down Syndrome, regardless of race, look like people from East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Native nations in the Americas, or the Pacific Islands. It carries the underlying assumption that people from these racial and ethnic groups are automatically unattractive and undesirable.	Tropenmuseum – Words Matter National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide National Down Syndrome Society - Preferred Language Guide
mouth breather/s mouth-breather/s	Invokes the idea of people who breathe only or mostly through their mouths (instead of their noses) as unintelligent brutes.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
multiple personalities multiple personality disorder	Characterised by the emergence of two or more distinct personality states or identities in a person’s behaviour or consciousness – medically known as “alters”. The medical condition today is “Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD) and DDNOS”. Also ableist when used metaphorically to imply or state that a person is double-dealing, two-faced, manipulative, deceptive, or changing rapidly.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Trauma Dissociation . Com
mute/s language disorder mutism dumb dumbness	A language disorder may inhibit a person’s ability to speak, read, write, or understand spoken or written language.	Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed) University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
neurodiversity neurodiverse neurotypical		National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
OCD obsessive compulsive disorder	Ableist when used as a substitute for “fastidious,” “meticulous,” “anal-retentive,” or “high-strung”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
paraplegic/s		APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals
paranoid		APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals
-phobic -phobia homophobic Islamophobia	Contended by some on the grounds that it appropriates description of specific mental illness.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
post-traumatic stress disorder posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD		National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
prelingually deaf postlingually deaf late-deafened
psycho/s psychotic psychosis psychoses	Reference to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Ableist when used as a metaphor to mean “like a person with a mental disability”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
psychopath/s psychopathic	Refers to people with mental or psychiatric disabilities. Some people use it specifically to refer to people with antisocial personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder, or with the quasi-psychiatric categories of psychopathy or sociopathy (these are disputed). Ableist when used as a metaphor to mean “like a person with a mental disability”.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
retard/s retarded tard/s mentally retarded mentally deficient retardation mental retardation dotard/s the r-word window licker/s window-licker/s	Derogatory term for people with intellectual disabilities Also ableist when used as a metaphor for someone with intellectual disabilities. In the USA in 2010, Rosa’s Law saw the term “mental retardation” replaced with intellectual disability.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines National Down Syndrome Society - Preferred Language Guide Wikipedia - List of disability-related terms with negative connotations UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability
seizure/s epileptic fit/s spastic attacks	Describes an involuntary muscle contraction and/or brief impairment or loss of consciousness resulting from a neurological condition such as epilepsy or brain injury. Do not assume that a person who had a seizure has epilepsy.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
Seeing Eye dog	Seeing Eye is a registered trademark	University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
scatter brained scatterbrain scatterbrained
schizophrenic schizophrenics schizo	Schizophrenia is a severe long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms. Ableist when used as a metaphor for someone with psychiatric disabilities.	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide NHS - Schizophrenia
short-bus short bus	Ableist slang for people with intellectual, learning, or other mental disabilities.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid
Socially disabled Social disabilities	Socially disadvantaged	Cataloging Lab - Problem LCSH
spaz spazzed spastic/s spakka spazzy spazy	Derogatory term for people with cerebral palsy or similar neurological disabilities.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Heriot Watt – Disability Etiquette UK Government - Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability
special needs special need special special education specially abled	A term popularised in the US in the early 20th century. Usually refers to people with learning, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, but can mean any person with a disability. It is a euphemistic term for people with disabilities that is considered stigmatising.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide Disability in Kidlit - Introduction to disability terminology Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
spina bifida		National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
Spinal cord injury SCI	Describes a condition in which there has been permanent damage to the spinal cord, resulting in some degree of impairment or paralysis. Quadriplegia or tetraplegia denote some loss of function only in the lower part of the body.	University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
stutter/s a stutterer a stammerer stammer stuttering stammering stuttered stammered	The term “stutter” is most widely used to refer to a speech disorder. The new term for this condition “childhood-onset fluency disorder” is not yet widely used.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
the physically disabled	Contested by some for not using people-first language	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals
the learning disabled learning disability learning disabilities slow learner slow	Refer to a number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organisation, retention, understanding, or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning. As such, learning disabilities are distinct from global intellectual disability	APA Style - Guidelines for Nonhandicapping Language in APA Journals University of Kansas - Guidelines: How to write about people with disabilities (9th. Ed)
trigger triggered	Psychological triggers are words, images or sounds that activate phobias, panic attacks or flashbacks to unpleasant events or trauma. Triggers can be hard to predict and vary from individual to individual, but communicating the nature of your content builds trust in audiences. Don’t use the term ‘trigger warning’ in a flip or casual way.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
Tourette’s Tourettes TS	Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterised by tics, or sudden, purposeless and rapid movements or vocalisations	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
treatment rehab rehabilitation detox center	A treatment centre is an establishment usually run by psychiatric or medical professionals.	National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide
wacko/s whacko/s	Ableist when used as a metaphor to mean ‘like a person with a mental disability’.	Autistic Hoya - Ableist words and terms to avoid Center for Disability Rights - Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines
wet brain		National Center on Disability and Journalism, Arizona State University - Disability Language Style Guide