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Engaging Diverse Voices through Research & Resources

Key Definitions

Disability

"A disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions). There are many types of disabilities, such as those that affect a person’s:

  • Vision
  • Movement
  • Thinking
  • Remembering
  • Learning
  • Communicating
  • Hearing
  • Mental health
  • Social relationships

Although “people with disabilities” sometimes refers to a single population, this is actually a diverse group of people with a wide range of needs. Two people with the same type of disability can be affected in very different ways. Some disabilities may be hidden or not easy to see."

Historical Context

U.S. Census & Data Collection

"Disability data come from the American Community Survey (ACS), the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), and the Current Population Survey (CPS). All three surveys ask about six disability types: hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty. Respondents who report any one of the six disability types are considered to have a disability.

Each survey has unique advantages. The ACS has the ability to estimate disability for smaller subgroups of the population. The CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) has additional questions on work disability. The Social Security Administration Supplement to the SIPP has information on other types of disability. "

-Source: U.S. Census Disability Data

Keyword Suggestions

Keep in mind that many words that were commonly used in the past have since become outdated or even offensive. You may encounter these outdated terms in your research, and you may even need to use them in your own searches in order to get a complete view of your topic, especially if your topic is historical in nature. However, please be careful about using these words yourself, especially if you do not identify as part of the community that you are researching.  

Terms marked with an asterisk (*) are considered offensive by some people and should only be used for self-identifying or quoting someone who explicitly self-identifies using that term.

Click on the terms below to see related keywords.

 

ability
  • ableism
  • disability
  • non-visible disabilities
  • People First Language (PFL)
accessibility
  • Assistive Technology (AT)
  • Universal Design (UD)
  • Accommodation
blind  
  • legally blind 
  • limited vision 
  • low vision 
  • partially sighted
  • visually impaired*  

Critical Autism Studies
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Neurodiversity Movement
  • Autistic Rights Movement
deaf and hard of hearing 
  • Deaf (with capital when referring to deaf culture/people)
dwarf
  • people with dwarfism
  • little person 
  • midget* 
people with disabilities(general)
  • children with disabilities
  • disabled* 
  • atypical 
  • abnormal* 
  • crippled*
  • handicapped* 
people without disabilities
  • non-disabled 
  • able-bodied* 
people with drug/alcohol additions
  • people with alcoholism 
  • addict*
  • alcoholic*
  • junkie*
  • recovery
  • remission
people with congenital disabilities
  • person living with congenital disability 
people with mental illness 
  • mentally ill*
  • mental health disability
person with intellectual disability
  • allistic
  • Asperger syndrome
  • attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • attention deficit disorder (ADD)
  • autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • echolalia
  • neurodiversity
  • neurotypical
  • mental retardation*
people with learning disability
  • dyscalculia
  • dysgraphia
  • dyslexia
  • dyspraxia
wheelchair user
  • person who uses a wheelchair 
  • wheelchair-bound* 
people with autism
  • autism
  • autistic* 
  • retard/retarded *

 

Reference Books

an icon for partial quotation marks Acknowledgment

This guide is inspired by the LibGuides Open Review Discussion Sessions (LORDS) Project and University of Minnesota Libraries' Conducting Research Through an Anti-Racism Lens LibGuide. 

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