disABILITY FOCUS

This week, we continue from where we left last week; listing down examples of preferred terminology concerning persons with disabilities. Please note, however, that these guidelines are not exhaustive and that some language which is considered appropriate by one person may not be considered appropriate by another. If you are unsure about the language you are using, then ask the disabled person what they feel most comfortable with and continue to use this language whilst in their presence. Here are more examples of the preferred terminologies: •       Most disabilities are not a disease. Do not call person with a disability a "patient" unless referring to a hospital setting. In an occupational and physical therapy context, "client" or "customer" is preferred. •       Some diseases by legal definition are considered disabilities. Victimization imagery ("AIDS victims") or defining the person by the disease ("she is a diabetic") is inappr...

Language reflects the social context in which it is developed and used. It reflects the values and attitudes of that context, and plays an important role in reinforcing values and attitudes that lead to discrimination and segregation of particular groups in society. Language can, therefore, be used as a powerful tool to facilitate change and bring about new values, attitudes and social integration. However, there is a great deal of disagreement as to what should be considered offensive. Views vary with geography and culture, over time, and among individuals. Some of the terms, such as "retard" and "lame," are deliberate insults; others, such as "wheelchair-bound," are inherently negative; still others, such as "Mongolism," are based on stereotypical ideas of certain groups of individuals with disabilities. Some people believe that terms should be avoided if they might offend people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms...

The definition and classification of disabled persons have gone through a number of changes over the centuries. Specialists have grouped disability approaches into two models, namely “social model” and “medical model”. The distinctions between the “social model” and the “medical model” of disability can initially seem remote from the concerns of someone unfamiliar with disabilities struggling to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to the mainstream social life, such as their ability to enjoy their right to access transportation infrastructure, or access to the HIV/AIDS education. The theory of Medical Model Approach uses traditional approaches which states that the inability to carry out activities is caused by impairment or impairments. For example, you are not mobile because you have a spinal injury. This understanding of disability is said to be a medical model of disability because the causes of disability are attributed only to medical conditions. In contras...

For someone new to the disability rights studies and advocacy, certain terms can seem as bewildering as international development jargon can seem to a grassroots disability rights advocate. Before we even begin to discuss in detail what we can do to mainstream disability in both developmental work and daily social life, we must first discuss and understand the basic concepts that are often used in such work, as such terminologies may inevitably pop up once in a while in the subsequent articles. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Disability as “an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.” On the other hand, the Handbook On Mainstreaming Disability developed by Voluntary Service Organisation (VSO) defines disability as “the disadvantage and exclusion which arise as an outcome of the interactions between people who have impairments and the social and environmental barriers they face due to the failure of society to take account o...

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you, readers, to this new blog, The disABILTY FOCUS which tackles issues affecting persons with disabilities in Malawi and beyond. As you may be aware, while most of us have been reading a number of blogs on the Internet and columns in newspapers and other publications focusing on a thematic issue like gender, most of you will however testify that this is probably the first time you will be reading, and following, a blog that specifically tackles issues on disabilities in Malawi. It is in this context why the authors – Mussa Chiwaula of Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA) and George Mwika Kayange of Child Rights Information & Documentation Centre (CRIDOC) – have initiated the blog. Through this blog, we intend to help raise awareness and encourage debate on key issues that affect persons with disabilities in Malawi. We also aim to assess the role of various stakeholders in the promotion of rights ...