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List of disability-related terms with negative connotations

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The following is a list of terms, used to describe disabilities or people with disabilities, which may carry negative connotations or be offensive to people with or without disabilities.

Some people consider it best to use person-first language, for example "a person with a disability" rather than "a disabled person."[1] However identity-first language, as in "autistic person" or "deaf person", is preferred by many people and organizations.[2]

Language can influence individuals' perception of disabled people and disability.[3] Views vary with geography and culture, over time, and among individuals. Many terms that some people view as harmful are not viewed as hurtful by others, and even where some people are hurt by certain terms, others may be hurt 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 hurt people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms used without harmful intent.[citation needed] For example, crazy should be avoided in describing persons or their behaviors, but is less likely to cause offense if used as an intensifier as in "crazy speed".[4]

For some terms, the grammar structure of their use determine if they are harmful. The person-first stance advocates for saying "people with disabilities" instead of "the disabled" or "a person who is deaf" instead of "a deaf person".[5][6][7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

A

Term Notes References
A few sandwiches short of a picnic Used of people perceived as having reduced or limited mental faculties. Numerous derivatives with no known original (e.g. "a few books short of a library"). [citation needed]
Able-bodied There is an implied value judgement comparing a person with a disability versus one without [10]
Abnormal [11]
Addict [12]
Afflicted [10]
Attention-seeking Used of people who are suffering emotionally [13]
Autistic Or Autism, when used as an insult [14]

B

Term Notes References
Batty [15]
Birth defect [10]
Blind Especially when used metaphorically (e.g., "blind to criticism") or preceded by "the", although "the blind" is considered acceptable by many blind people and organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind. [6][16][17][18]
Bonkers [15]
Brain damaged [19]

C

Term Notes References
Challenged [20]
Crazy [6][16][21][22]
Crazy cat lady Used of mentally ill and neurotic women, particularly single women and spinsters who hoard cats. [23]
Cretin [citation needed]
Cripple "A person with a physical or mobility impairment". Its shortened form ("crip") has been reclaimed by some people with disabilities as a positive identity. [6][7][17][24]
Confined to a wheelchair Implies helplessness, and that someone is to be pitied. [7]

D

Term Notes References
Daft People considered nonsensical or feckless [15][23]
Deaf and dumb or Deaf-mute [6][16][17][22]
Deaf to X [15]
Defective Or other uses of "defect" [10]
Deformed [6]
Delusional [25]
Demented People with dementia [10]
Deranged or mentally deranged [6]
Derp Considered by some sites to refer to people with intellectual disabilities [23]
Differently abled [7][23]
Dim or dim-witted [25]
DALYs/DFLYs/QALYs: Disability or Quality Adjusted (or Free) Life Years Suggests that a nondisabled person's life years are worth more than a disabled person's [26]
The Disabled or Disabled people May be offensive to some,[1][17][22] who may prefer "person with a disability" or "people with health conditions or impairments".[7] However, many people prefer "disabled person" or "disabled people", in part due to the social model of disability.[27][28][29]
Disorder [30]
Dotard [31]
Downie Used of people with Down Syndrome. A Dutch profanity sometimes appearing in English as "downy" and generally considered derogatory [32]
Dumb Especially when preceded by "the" [17][22]
Dummy and dumb Used of people with mental disabilities, or more generally people perceived as stupid or ignorant. Once used to describe people incapable of speaking, suggestive of an insulting mannequin-like or ventriloquist's dummy-like appearance. [33][34]
Dwarf [10]

E

Term Notes References
Epileptic [35]
Exceptional [36]

F

Term Notes References
Feeble-minded or Feeb [6][16]
Fit In reference to an epileptic seizure [6]
Flid People with phocomelia from birth mother's use of thalidomide [37]
Freak [25][38]

G

Term Notes References
Gimp or gimpy A limp or a person with a limp [21][22]

H

Term Notes References
Handicapped Especially when preceded by "the" or "physically" [7][16][17]
Handicapable [20]
Hare lip [6]
Hearing-impaired [39]
Homebound [40]
Hunchback, or "humpback" Especially when referring to people with scoliosis or kyphosis. Generated controversy after the 1990s release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (see Quasimodo below). [41][42][43][44]
Hyper [20]
Hyper-sensitive [45]
Hysterical Typically used in reference to women [46]

I

Term Notes References
Imbecile Was originally the diagnostic term used for people with IQ scores between 30 and 50 when the IQ test was first developed in the early 1900s. It is no longer used professionally. Before the IQ test was developed in 1905, "imbecile" was also commonly used as a casual insult towards anyone perceived as incompetent at doing something. [47][48][6]
Incapacitated [6]
Idiot Was originally the diagnostic term used for people with IQ scores under 30 when the IQ test was first developed in the early 1900s. 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. [47][48][6]
Illiterate Now considered imprecise and blames the person for something caused by the condition of the educational system. [49]
Inmate When referring to a psychiatric admission [12]
Insane [25]
Inspirational or inspiring When used about somebody doing a very ordinary activity, a phenomenon of spectacle known as "inspiration porn" that is based on pity; not to be confused with legitimate public activities of mass spectacle such as Special Olympics or Paralympics, which celebrate talent without pity or mockery. [50]
Invalid [6][16]

J

Term Notes References
Junkie [12]

L

Term Notes References
Lame In 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." [6][21][22]
Losing one's mind [25]
Losing / Lost one's marbles [citation needed]
LPC – Likely to become a public charge [51]
Lunatic or looney [6]

M

Term Notes References
Mad, madman, manwomen Some individuals with mental illness tend to use this term to change the negative stigma surrounding it (see Mad Pride) [6][12][25][52]
Mad as a hatter or Mad hatter Derogatory term (referring to a mentally ill person or a person with brain damage and dementia caused by heavy metal poisoning) popularized especially due to the fictional character of the same name [53]
Maniac [6]
Mental, mentally deficient, mental case or mentally ill [6][15][16][22]
Midget [16]
Mong, Mongol, Mongoloid, or Mongolism Used of people with Down syndrome [6][16][20][54]
Moron, moronic [6][15]
Munchkin See "Midget" above. A term derived from the 1930s feature film The Wizard of Oz which had a cast of Little Persons. [55]
Mute [20]
Mutant referring to someone with an uncommon genetic mutation [56]

N

Term Notes References
Narc, narcissist Does not mean the same as abuser [13][57]
Not the brightest bulb / Not the sharpest tool in the shed Mentally disabled derogatory term [citation needed]
Nut, nuts, or nutter, nuthouse, etc. [23][25]

O

Term Notes References
Out to lunch Mentally disabled derogatory term [58][59]

P

Term Notes References
Patient [6]
Paraplegic [10]
Psycho(tic) [16]
Psychopath A dated term used for a person with a mental illness [60]

Q

Term Notes References
Quasimodo Translates to "half-formed" or more commonly "deformed", and made infamous by the fictional character Quasimodo, a deformed man with kyphosis who later appeared in a popular Disney film in the 1990s (see Hunchback above) [43]

R

Term Notes References
Retard/Retarded Before the 1990s this was considered acceptable by most non-disabled people and organizations.[61] Also known as the r-word.[62] [6][7][21][22]

S

Term Notes References
Scatterbrained [63]
Schizo Especially as an adjective, meaning "erratic" or "unpredictable" or, for the former two, to refer to an individual [64][65][66][67]
Schizophrenic When referring to an individual [10]
(has a) Screw loose British slang term that originally meant eccentric, neurotic or slightly mentally ill; generally considered offensive to mentally ill people [68][69]
Senile [10]
Slow [70]
Sluggish [63]
Sociopath [60]
Spastic/Spaz Especially in the UK and Ireland. Previously referred to muscle spasticity or a person with cerebral palsy, which may involve muscle spasms. Also used to insult someone uncoordinated or making jerking movements. [6][17][22]
Special [20]
Special needs [71]
SPED An acronym of "special ed" (short for "special education") [72]
Stone deaf [73][better source needed]
Stricken [11]
Stupid [74]
Subnormal [20]
Supercrip [75]
Sufferer [7][76]

T

Term Notes References
Tard Short for "retard"; see retard above. [77]
Thick [78]
Tone deaf [73]

U

Term Notes References
Unclean [79]
Unfortunate [45]
Unhinged [80]

V

Term Notes References
Victim of an ailment [6][16][22][76]
Vegetable [81]
Vegetative state [82][83]

W

Term Notes References
Wacko [11]
Wheelchair bound and "confined to a wheelchair" Preferred use is "person who uses a wheelchair" [6][7][16][17][22]
Window licker [84][85]

Y

Term Notes References
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, rather than having a genuine illness. [86]

See also

References

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