Language is a means to communicate with each other and the way we use it influences the outcome of the message we want to convey. Nowadays there is a thin line drawn between what is cruel, what is uneducated, and what is oversensitive when we talk about people with disabilities. As Rosemarie Garland-Thomson said “Yet talking about disability can be a fraught experience. The vocabulary of this status is highly charged, and for even the most well-meaning person, a conversation can feel like stepping into a maze of courtesy, correctness, and possible offense. When I lecture about disability, someone always wants to know–either defensively, earnestly, or cluelessly– the “correct” way to refer to this new politicized identity.” (Pg 17)

Six Special Olympics athletes posing for a picture. Back row (Left to right): Tim Gowen(wearing a white cape and eyeglasses with a big smile on his face), Annu Singleton (a tall young black man looking to his left with a big smile on his face wearing a red special Olympic shirt) and Perez Plater ( a young black man looking to his left with a big smile on his face wearing a black special Olympic) . Front row (left to right): Alexea Wentz (a young white lady with a big smile on her face looking to the camera wearing a white shirt) Marti Clark (a young black lady with a smile on her face looking down), and Michelle Andrade (a young black lady smiling wearing a black cape, eyeglasses, and red special Olympic shirt) Picture from the Special Olympics website.

Six Special Olympics athletes posing for a picture wearing a variety of red, black, and white T-Shirts, all with the text “Special Olympics” on the front.

When it comes to the cruel side of language use, some people are entitled to use words they have been indoctrinated with such as retarded, psycho, handicapped, and addicted. Empowered by the ablism culture they come from; they think that they are right without considering the possibility of the harm they are going to do to people with disabilities. This kind of cruel way of communicating that has a damaging impact on people with disabilities is disappearing thanks to the struggle of many who understand the impact of words.

The other barrier to communicating in the right way is being uneducated about the subject. As the largest and most diverse minority group in the world, people with disabilities should exert their ideals to let others know they want to be known for who they are, not just to be known as an inspiration to non-disabled people. It is amazing how a sizable portion of our society does not know that everything is not related to their problem.

The third and most important thing we need to fight right now is the oversensitive approach to people with disabilities. This does not change the way non-disabled people think but it makes it impossible to talk and bring change. As a society, we are transitioning from an ableism culture to oversensitive culture. Instead of hushing it down, it is better to talk about it carefully and with our purpose in mind, which is communicating the right way. Otherwise, we are going to be sorry we do not address this issue and as a society, we are going to struggle to communicate. Work citied Davis, Lennard J. “Ch. 2 Becoming Disabled: Rosemarie Garland-Thomson.” Beginning with Disability: A Primer, Routledge, pp 15-19 Special Olympics Athletes Model Web shop Merchandise. Washington, D.C, 22 Oct. 2022. https://www.specialolympics.org/stories/athletes/special-olympics-athletes-modelwebshop-merchandise

Written by Furtuna Tekle