Terminology

Glossary

AAC

Augmentative and alternative communication, an umbrella term for methods and technologies (e.g. communication boards and speech-generating devices) that help people with a wide range of speech and language impairments to communicate with family, carers and other people. (Source: MOOCAP: ICT Accessibility Glossary, CC-BY 4.0 licence)

accessibility

The extent to which a product (including software, websites and documents) or service can be used by everyone, regardless of disabilities. (Source: MOOCAP: ICT Accessibility Glossary, CC-BY 4.0 licence)

challenging behaviour

Behaviour is challenging if it is harmful to the person or others around them, which can include hitting or kicking, and if it stops them from being able achieve things in their daily life, such as making friends. (Source: NICE: People with learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges should be better cared for in the community, says NICE, 09.10.2017. )

How to Talk About (People with) Disabilities

• Carter, Sheena L. (Emory University School of Medicine): Impairment, Disability and Handicap. This article uses the definitions of the World Health Organzation's International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (1980) and describes how they can be applied to two examples: cerebral palsy and a learning disability.
• International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps: A manual of classifcation relating to consequences of disease, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980 uses the following classification

  • (a) Impairments (I code), concerned with abnormalities of body structure and appearance and with organ or system functions resulting from any cause; in principle, impairments represent disturbances at the organ level.
  • (b) Disabilities (D code), reflecting the consequences of impairment in terms of functional performance and activity by the individual; disabilities thus represent disturbances at the level of the person.
  • (c) Handicaps (H code), concerned with the disadvantages experienced by the individual as a result of impairments and disabilities; handicaps thus reflect interaction with and adaptation to the individual's surroundings.

• Gernsbacher, Morton Ann: Special needs, euphemisms, and disability, SpringerOpen Blog, 17.01.2017. Reblogged: Special needs, euphemisms, and disability, On Health (BioMed Central blog), 17.01.2017.
  For the study itself, see: Gernsbacher, Morton Ann; Raimond, Adam R.; Balinghasay, M. Theresa; Boston, Jilana S.: “Special needs” is an ineffective euphemism, Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 2016: 1:19. (Open Access article.)
• Scope UK: The social model of disability: What is it and why is it important?
  See also the YouTube video What is the social model of disability? (3 minutes).
• NCLD (USA): 5 Questions Parents and Educators Can Ask to Start Conversations About Using Terms Like Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia, 26.06.2017.
• Inclusive language - Content style guide, NHS digital service manual, last updated in September 2021.
• Klentz, Rachel: Person-First or Identity-First: The importance of Language, The Disability Union, 26.06.2020.
• Hardy, Esi: Disability Language: How To Talk About Disability, Celebrating Disability, 02.08.2019; updated on 04.06.2021.
• Clement, Charli: You Don’t get to Change my Identity to Make you Feel Better, The Unwritten, 11.11.2022.
  Article about the ableism implicit in certain phrases used by non-disabled people (or society in general), who regard “disabled” as a negative term. These terms include “enabled”, “different abilities”, “special abilities” and “people of determination”. The article was shared on LinkedIn by Global Disability Inclusion, LLC with the following words: We say it all the time, Disability is not a dirty word. This poignant article spells it out clearly — calling us special needs, or differently abled is viewed as toxic positivity and diminishes our experience.

The terms used to refer to disorders related to intellectual, cognitive or psychological aspects have change over time. The terms used may also differ from country to country. For example:

• General learning disability (in the UK) or intellectual disability (ID) is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significantly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning (Wikipedia). This term now replaces older labels such as “mental retardation” or “mental handicap”.
  The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) defines intellectual disability as follows: a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18. (Source: AAIDD: Definition of Intellectual Disability.)
• Specific learning disability or SpLD (in the UK) or learning disability / learning disorder (USA and Canada) refers to several areas of functioning in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors (Wikipedia). Examples include dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.

See also Cognitive Disability: Information on Intellectual Disabilities on the website Disabled World.

How to Talk (Or Not to Talk) to People with Disabilities

• Things Not To Say To A Blind Person, Things Not To Say To Someone Who Uses A Wheelchair, Things Not To Say To An Autistic Person and Things People With Down's Syndrome Are Tired of Hearing (quote: The only thing I suffer from are bad attitudes, i.e. the bad attitudes of people with preconceived ideas about Down syndrome). These videos are part of a longer series by BBC 3 about Things Not To Say To ….

Accessibility, Universal Design, Inclusive Design and Related Concepts

• Design Council (UK): The principles of inclusive design:

  Inclusive design aims to remove the barriers that create undue effort and separation. It enables everyone to participate equally, confidently and independently in everyday activities.

• Sensory Trust (UK): What is Inclusive Design?

  Inclusive design (also called universal design) makes places usable by everyone, regardless of age, ability and circumstance. It is based on the simple principle that designing for the widest range of people creates better designs and benefits everyone. No costly retrofits, happy users and great designs.

• Design Buildings Wiki: Inclusive design: cites the definitions of inclusive design according to the British Standards Institute (2005), a UK government policy paper and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), and the principles of universal design.
• DOGA (formerly The Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture): Inclusive Design - a people centered strategy for innovation: Definitions. Defines Inclusive Design (based on the UK government's definition), Universal Design (USA) and Design For All.
• Inclusive Design Toolkit (University of Cambridge): Comparison with 'Universal design':

  In contrast, inclusive design originated with product design, and focuses on choosing an appropriate target market for a particular design, and making informed decisions to maximise the 'Product performance indicators' for that target market. While inclusive design intends to extend the reach of mainstream products, it acknowledges the commercial constraints associated with satisfying the needs of the target market.

  This definition of inclusive design differs from the one provided by the UK government.

Links to Glossaries

• MOOC Accessibility Partnership (MOOCAP): ICT Accessibility Glossary in PDF format / ICT Accessibility Glossary in Microsoft Word format for the course Digital Accessibility: Enabling Participation in the Information Society (2016-2017).
• Glossar, Barrierefreies Webdesign (no date).
• Accessibility glossary, Canada.ca (no date).
• Usability.gov (USA): Glossary by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
• User Experience Professionals' Association: Glossary (Usability Body of Knowledge).
  Available under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) License.
  See also the page Definitions of User Experience and Usability.
• Usability First: Glossary (Foraker Labs, Boulder, Colorado).
• UX Mastery: UX Glossary.
  Available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Contributions to the glossary can be submitted through the GitHub repository.
• Assistive Technology Glossary, Fable (no date; accessed on 20.07.2022).
• CreativeMinds Glossary.
• UX Matters: Glossary and Acronyms.
• UX Digital Diva: the user experience (ux) glossary.
• SAP Enterprise Architecture Explorer: UX-relevant terms.
• Usability 247: Usability Glossary.
• Cyborg Anthropology: UX Glossary.
  Available under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
• Begriffe über Behinderung von A bis Z, Leidmedien.de (no date; accessed on 14.09.2021).
• Tubik Studio: UI/UX Design Glossary. Steps to Usability
• UX Acrobat: UX Glossary.

Other Terms and Links

Mutisensory or multi-sensory design is the name of an approach that has been proposed in some publications, for example:

• Cearbhall O’Meadhra, Fighting Blindness (Ireland): Multisensory design.
• Schifferstein, Hendrik N. J.: Multi sensory design, DESIRE '11: Procedings of the Second Conference on Creativity and Innovation in Design, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 19–21 October 2011.
• enhance the uk (organisation that delivers disability awareness training).
• Differing Abilities (by the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, Massachusetts, USA).
• Stella Young: Inspiration porn and the objectification of disability, TEDxSydney, 2014 (10 minutes).
• correcte terminologie, Doof Vlaanderen (no date; accessed on 22.10.2021).

See also Multisensory Instruction: What You Need to Know by Amanda Morin.

Other links:

• Disability Rights UK.
• Brodersen, Imke: Menschen mit Behinderungen: Die richtige Wortwahl im Englischen, Translation Clinic, 20.03.2017.
• Charlton-Dailey, Rachel: Op-Ed: Why 'Invisible Disabilities' Are Anything but Invisible, Verywell Health, 27.10.2021.
• Arten von Behinderungen und Gesundheitszuständen – Definitionen, Barrieren, Einschränkungen, H-Care (no date; 27.10.2021).

The term “Asperger's syndrom”, which was listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-4), was folded into the umbrella term ”autism spectrum disorder“ in DSM-5 in 2013. This change received wider attention after Hans Asperger's relationship with Nazism was discovered. See also the following links:

• What Is Asperger Syndrome?, Autism Speaks (no date; accessed on 01.09.2022).
• Asperger syndrome and other terms, National Autistic Society (no date; accessed on 01.09.2022).
• Furfaro, Hannah: Pioneering autism researcher cooperated with Nazis, new evidence suggests, Science, 19.04.2018.
  Subtitle: Austrian doctor Hans Asperger sent children to clinic where Nazi doctors euthanized them for research, book alleges.
• Rozsa, Matthew: The Nazi History of Hans Asperger Proves We Need a New Word For This Type of Autism , AlterNet, 01.05.2018.
• Sheffer, Edith: The Problem with Asperger's, Scientific American blog, 02.05.2018.
• Doctor Behind Asperger's Syndrome Subject To Name Change, NPR, 12.05.2018.
• Baron-Cohen, Simon: The Truth about Hans Asperger's Nazi Collusion, Scientific American, 17.05.2018.
• Rudy, Lisa Jo: Asperger's Syndrome Is No Longer an Official Diagnosis, Verywell Health, 20.05.2021.
• Using the term Asperger's Syndrome, Wrong Planet, question posted in the General Autism Discussion forum in November 2021.
  This discussion shows that not everyone who was once diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome now rejects the term.