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". However identity-first language, as in "autistic person" or "deaf person", is preferred by many people and organizations.

Language can influence individuals' perception of disabled people and disability. 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". 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. 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 non-disabled people.

A

{| class="wikitable"

!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").

|

|-

|Able-bodied

|There may be an implied value judgement comparing a person with a disability versus one without.

|

|-

|Abnormal

|

|

|-

|Addict

|

|

|-

|Afflicted

|

|

|-

|Acoustic

|An intentional malformation of autistic, used as a synonym in pejorative contexts

|

|-

|Autistic

|Or autism, when used as an insult

|

|}

B

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Batty

|

|

|-

|Birth defect

|

|

|-

|Bonkers

|

|

|}

C

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Challenged

|

|

|-

|Crazy

|

|

|-

|Crazy cat lady

|Used of mentally ill and neurotic women, particularly single women and spinsters who hoard cats.

|

|-

|Cretin

|

|

|-

|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.

|

|-

|Confined to a wheelchair

|May imply helplessness, and that someone is to be pitied.

|

|-

|Demented

|People with dementia

|

|-

|The Disabled or Disabled people

|May be offensive to some,

|

|-

|Disorder

|

|

|-

|Dotard

|

|

|-

|Downie

|Used of people with Down Syndrome. A Dutch profanity sometimes appearing in English as "downy" and generally considered derogatory

|

|-

|Dumb

|Especially when preceded by "the"

|

|-

|Dwarf

|

|

|}

F

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Feeble-minded or Feeb

|

|

|-

|Freak

|

|

|}

G

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Gimp or gimpy

|A limp or a person with a limp

|

|-

|Homebound

|

|

|-

|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).

|

|-

|Hyper

|

|

|-

|Hysterical

|Typically used in reference to women

|

|}

I

{| class="wikitable"

!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.

|

|-

|Inmate

|When referring to a psychiatric admission

|

|-

|Invalid

|

|

|-

|Lunatic or looney

|

|

|-

|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

|

|-

|Maniac

|

|

|-

|Moron, moronic

|

|

|-

|Mute

|

|

|}

N

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Narc, narcissist

|

|

|-

|Neurospicy

|

|

|-

|Not the brightest bulb / Not the sharpest tool in the shed

|Mentally disabled derogatory term

|

|-

|Nut, nuts, or nutter, nuthouse, etc.

|

|

|}

P

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Patient

|

|

|}

Q

{| class="wikitable"

!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)

| Also known as "the r-word".

|

|-

|Schizo

|Especially as an adjective, meaning "erratic" or "unpredictable" or, for the former two, to refer to an individual

|

|-

|Schizophrenic

|When referring to an individual

|

|-

|Senile

|

|

|-

|Sluggish

|

|

|-

|SPED

|An acronym of "special ed" (short for "special education")

|

|-

|Stone deaf

|

|

|-

|Stricken

|

|

|-

|Subnormal

|

|

|-

|Sufferer

|

|

|}

T

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Tard

|Short for "retard"; see retard above.

|

|-

|Thick

|

|

|-

|Tone deaf

|

|

|-

|Unfortunate

|

|

|}

V

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Victim of an ailment

|

|

|-

|Vegetative state

|

|

|}

W

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

|Wacko

|

|

|}

Y

{| class="wikitable"

!Term

!Notes

!References

|-

| Yuppie flu

| Used as a pejorative term for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This originated from the media stereotype of people with CFS as ambitious, young, and affluent ("yuppies"), rather than having a genuine illness.

|

|}

See also

  • Ableism
  • List of age-related terms with negative connotations
  • List of ethnic slurs

References

  • Disability etiquette - Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities – United Spinal Association
  • Inclusive language: words to use when writing about disability - Office for Disability Issues and Department for Work and Pensions (UK)
  • List of terms to avoid when writing about disability – National Center on Disability and Journalism