Disability Pride Month

It's July (if I hide the cliche in parentheses, is it as bad? BUT HOW IS IT JULY ALREADY? - also does February seem like actual years ago to anyone else, or just me?)...

Ok, the parentheses didn't help, but I couldn't not share that though. 

IT'S JULY! Disability Pride Month. Why July? Why do we celebrate? The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed on July 26th, 1990. I honestly don't know what legislation is like in other countries (you can bet I'll fall down that rabbit hole later today), but this law has been crucial in shaping my career. Yep. Starting out as a young auditory-oral teacher of the Deaf and then transitioning into Speech-Language Pathology - many aspects of my employment in several situations were dependent on the ADA. 

But this post isn't really about that. It's about words. Words you'll likely see a lot this month. 

Last Friday, I had the distinct honor of providing the opening keynote speech to the Steamboat Springs Chamber Empower Yampa summit - a day full of programming for local business leaders to learn about progressive workplace policies. I spoke on #Neurodiversity in the workplace. 

Being neurodivergent myself and having watched the neurodiversity-affirming movement blossom from both sides, it's a very important topic for me. In the keynote, I spent quite a bit of time focusing on the words. 

• Neurodiversity: a concept where neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation

• Neurodivergent: a word used to refer to an individual who identifies as having neurological differences

• Neurodiverse: a word used to refer to a group of individuals of which some are neurodivergent

• Neurotypical: a word referring to individuals whose neurological development and functioning are typical or consistent with societal norms and expectations

Person-first language is outdated. In undergrad and grad school - we were taught to say "person with autism" or "child with dyslexia". Full papers might be returned if "autistic person" was used. But this has changed. Neurodivergent voices have spoken out and requested that we use identity-first language instead. It's an indication that we would not be ourselves if we did not experience autism, or dyslexia, or ADHD, or whatever it is. It is part of our identity. The person-first language implies that the "with" can be "fixed". 

I also shared outdated vocabulary we still hear in conversations about neurodiversity and gave some suggestions for alternatives.

X suffering from

√ living with

X handicapped

√ neurodivergent

X special needs

√ nuanced

X abnormal

√ unique

X high/low-functioning

√ varying support needs

X problematic

√ unconventional

X deficit

√ difference

I added #disabled at the end of the slide in my presentation - because there's a deeper conversation to be had about that word. It remains a necessary word in the medical, clinical, and insurance fields, but that's about it. 

Many individuals identify as disabled, as is their choice and right. Many neurodivergent individuals do not consider their neurodivergence to be a disability, and many do. Many individuals with limb differences do not consider their difference to be a disability, and many do. 

The point is: that it's not up to us

to determine whether someone else is disabled.

So use caution when wishing others a "Happy Disability Pride Month". If you care enough to want to say it to someone, then care enough to pay attention to the words they use about themselves first. It will make an incredibly positive impact.