Course Titles and Descriptions – People and Disabilities

Using person-first language when referring to a person with a disability has been the standard for many years. Numerous style guides, including the American Psychological Association (APA), have prescribed person-first language so that nouns referring to persons (e.g., children) always precede phrases referring to characteristics (e.g., children with typical development). Following suit, ASHA Approved CE Providers were required to write course titles and course descriptions using person-first language.

However, there are communities, including the Deaf community and many in the autism community, that prefer identity-first language. Author J. R. Thorpe (2017) writes, "For advocates of identity-first language, talking about being a 'disabled person' is fundamentally empowering because it acknowledges that their disability is vital to their position in the world and who they are."

The latest (2019) version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), Seventh Edition, offers updated guidance on using disability language. APA, in Section 5.4 of the manual, now suggests that authors choose language that reflects the preference of the individuals being discussed. When there is no clear choice, authors may choose to reflect both perspectives in their writing. APA’s disability style and grammar guide offers this principle:

“The overall principle for using disability language is to maintain the integrity (worth and dignity) of all individuals as human beings. Authors who write about disability are encouraged to use terms and descriptions that both honor and explain person-first and identity-first perspectives. Language should be selected with the understanding that the expressed preference of people with disabilities regarding identification supersedes matters of style.”

Therefore ASHA CE no longer requires course titles and descriptions to use person-first language when writing about disability. Instead, you should use the language preferred by those with the disability—or, if there is no preference, consider using both person-first and identity-first language.

Resources

ASHA Voices Podcast: Autism and Identity: Interrogating the Language We Use – This ASHA podcast episode explores the difference, history, and context that surround person-first and identity-first language.

APA Style Grammar Guidelines – Bias-Free Language: APA’s guidelines for bias-free language contain both general guidelines for writing about people without bias across a range of topics and specific guidelines that address the individual characteristics of age, disability, gender, participation in research, racial and ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality.

National Center on Disability and Journalism Style Guide: This style guide, developed by the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University, covers almost 200 words and terms commonly used when referring to disability, most of which are not covered in The Associated Press Stylebook.