Although many students use terms like "cripple" and "retard" jokingly, one of the more than 900 students a year who have a registered and documented disability at MSU could be listening.
Michael Hudson, director of the Resource Center for Students with Disabilities, said about 2 percent of MSU students register and document their disabilities with the office, but only one-third of the disabilities are visible.
Hudson said students who have disabilities are in every college, and for that reason it's important for people to choose their words wisely all the time.
"Always think how do you refer to yourself," Hudson said. "People think persons with disabilities only focus on their disability, but that is only part of their life. They live with a disability and come up with different ways to achieve things, despite the disability. As soon as you think something is impossible, someone is going to accomplish it, no matter what disability they have."
Hudson said to keep from offending a person with a disability, people should put the person before the disability.
"Society should help people recognize their potential despite what disabilities seem to preclude," he said.
Psychology junior Susan D'Mello said the best thing for people to remember is "not to freak out."
She said she gets dressed, walks to class and hangs out just like many other students — the only difference is that she is visually impaired.
"Be natural like you are talking to anybody else," D'Mello said. "I am not easily offended. You don't have to walk on glass."
D'Mello said when people see her walking stick, they move completely out of her way to help her, which she said can be annoying at times.
"It is a nice thing to do, but it is not a big deal, and you don't have to go out of your way. I can do it."
The evolution of "handicap"
Over time, words have developed different meanings and have become more or less politically correct.
Val Erwin, student assembly representative for the Council for Students with Disabilities, said people often use terms without realizing their meaning, or use the wrong terms altogether.
Terms like "handicap" have become offensive to some. The term "handicap" is derived from a person's hand in a cap as a form of someone begging, said Amanda Zitron, special education junior and president of the Council for Students with Disabilities.
"Having a disability is not a handicap," Zitron said. "It is a disadvantage of making an achievement difficult. An example would be if a wheelchair-user needs to get into a building that doesn't have a ramp — the absence of a ramp is the handicap."
People need to start recognizing the person as a person and not as their disability, she said. Their disability does not affect everything they do.
For example, the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities was founded in 1971 by Judy Gentile — a polio survivor who used a wheelchair after recovering from the disease.
The office was originally titled the Office of Programs for Handicapper Students, but was later changed to match the new language of recognizing the person rather than just his or her disability, Hudson said.
"It was redefined to the user," Hudson said. "The individual gets to define what it means to them. A person who has a disability could choose to engage in things, and they had control. It acknowledges people with disabilities can do what others think they couldn't do, even though they have a disability."
For Gentile, things like getting around campus became difficult after she started using a wheelchair. She also had difficulties buying a house, but through it all, she kept a positive outlook, Hudson said.
"Her idea was the wheelchair wasn't disabling — it was empowering," he said.
Erwin said people who use wheelchairs are not physically bound or confined to their wheelchairs; instead, the chair is an extension of the user's body — a sign of independence. Using the term "wheelchair-bound" can be considered offensive for this reason.
"They can get out," Erwin said. "They are not stuck. It makes wheelchairs sound so negative."
However, Virginia Martz, disability specialist for the Resource Center for Students with Disabilities, said the word "handicap" is still used to describe a parking space accessible for drivers with disabilities, but said barrier-free and accessible parking should be used instead.
Using the term handicapper instead adds an active notion to the term and gives the person action, she said.
In 1990, U.S. government officials passed the Americans With Disabilities Act, which introduced first-person terminology when talking about people with disabilities.
"The term evolved from something that was negative and added the first-person aspect," Hudson said. "Today, it is the most empowering concept we have. People can do whatever they want to as long as they have the right training, education, tools, technology and most importantly, if societal expectations stop setting a negative tone of what can be accomplished."
"Retard" or "Slow"
The terms "retard" or "slow" have sometimes been used to describe people with learning disabilities. It appears people's disability impedes them, when that is actually not the case, Erwin said.
People using these terms in a joking manner adds to the negative connotation.
"You hear friends calling each other retards, and they have nothing to do with people or persons with disabilities," Zitron said.
Students saying they have Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are not using the terms correctly if they are just having a problem on a homework assignment or having trouble in class, Zitron said. The disorders are real and greatly affect people.
People with a learning disorder or cognitive impairment are more appropriate because they have less of a stigma, she said.
Negative stereotypes frustrate Erwin, but they do not stop her from doing what she wants to do. In high school, Erwin's teachers would not allow her to serve on the student council because they said she would not be able to handle it. Now, she is the student assembly representative for the Council of Students with Disabilities.
"People are surprised I go to college or I can read because I have a learning disability," Erwin said. "My disability is a positive thing. It is part of who I am. I can't see the world any different. I can't perceive myself not having a disability."
Fredricka Paul can be reached at paulfred@msu.edu.
