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Merge pull request #263 from MicrosoftDocs/main
accessibility terms update
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‎styleguide/a-z-word-list-term-collections/term-collections/accessibility-terms.md

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@@ -3,48 +3,34 @@ title: Accessibility terms - Microsoft Style Guide
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description: Describes accessibility terms and provides examples of inclusive language to include in content and examples of sensitive language to exclude from content.
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author: pallep
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ms.author: pallep
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ms.date: 01/19/2018
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ms.date: 02/22/2023
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ms.topic: article
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ms.prod: non-product-specific
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---
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# Accessibility terms
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Write in a way that puts people first by using the phrase *person with* or *person who.*
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In general, use people-first language (refer first to the person, followed by the disability). To ensure clarity and consistency, this should be the default unless you know a specific audience prefers otherwise.
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Don’t use language that defines people by their disability, such as *disabled, impaired,* and *the deaf.* A person might have a visual impairment, but that person isn’t impaired.
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In some cases, however, identity-first language can be used, because some people and communities take pride in recognizing their disability as an integral part of their identity and feel that person-first language is marginalizing. Always make an effort to know the preferences expressed by a person with a disability or a disability community and defer to these.
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**Examples**<br />
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Person with visual impairment, person who is blind<br />
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Person with hearing loss, person with deafness<br />
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Person who is nonverbal, person who uses sign language<br />
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Person who uses a wheelchair<br />
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Person with a prosthetic limb, person without a limb<br />
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Person with autism<br />
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Person of small stature<br />
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In all cases, don’t use language that has offensive or insensitive connotations, such as *maimed* or *impaired*.
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It's OK to use words such as *see*, *read*, and *look* when calling out an example or another reference.
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The following table lists examples of people-first language (preferred), identity-first language (acceptable, context-dependent), and offensive or insensitive language (never allowed).
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**Preferred (people-first)** | **Acceptable (identity-first)** | **Do not use (offensive/insensitive)** |
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|----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| Person who is blind, person with low vision | Blind person | Sight-impaired, vision-impaired |
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| Person who is deaf, person with a hearing disability | Deaf person | Hearing-impaired |
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| Person with limited mobility, person who has a mobility or physical disability | Physically disabled person, wheelchair user | Crippled, lame, handicapped |
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| Is unable to speak, uses sign language, uses synthetic speech* | | Dumb, mute, non-verbal |
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| Has multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, or muscular dystrophy | | Affected by, stricken with, suffers from, a victim of, an epileptic |
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| Person without a disability | Non-disabled person, able-bodied person | Normal person, healthy person |
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| Person with a prosthetic limb, person with a limb difference, person with an amputation | Amputee | Maimed, missing a limb, birth defect |
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| Person with a disability | Disabled person | People with handicaps, the handicapped |
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| Person with cognitive disabilities, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, or dyslexia | Learning disabled, dyslexic person | Slow learner, mentally handicapped, differently abled, Special Ed person, stupid |
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| Person with autism, person with neurodiversity | Autistic person, neurodiverse person | Asperger’s |
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**Example**<br/>
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For more information see [Accessibility terms](~/a-z-word-list-term-collections/term-collections/accessibility-terms.md).
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If necessary, use the following terms to describe people with disabilities or the disabilities themselves.
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For an overview of Microsoft accessibility policies, see [Accessibility guidelines and requirements](~/accessibility/accessibility-guidelines-requirements.md).
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To learn more about writing that conveys respect to all people and promotes equal opportunities, see the [Guidelines for Inclusive Language](https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/guidelines-inclusive-language "Linguistic Society of America's guidelines for inclusive language") from the Linguistic Society of America.
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| Use this | Instead of this |
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|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| Blind, has low vision | Sight-impaired, vision-impaired |
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| Deaf or hard-of-hearing | Hearing-impaired |
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| Has limited mobility, has a mobility or physical disability | Crippled, lame |
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| Is unable to speak, uses synthetic speech | Dumb, mute |
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| Has multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, or muscular dystrophy | Affected by, stricken with, suffers from, a victim of, an epileptic |
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| Without disabilities | Normal, able-bodied, healthy |
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| Person with a prosthetic limb, person without a limb | Maimed, missing a limb |
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| People with disabilities | The disabled, disabled people, people with handicaps, the handicapped |
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| Cognitive disabilities, developmental disabilities | Slow learner, mentally handicapped, differently abled |
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| TTY (to refer to the telecommunication device) | TT/TTD |
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