People First Language at Inclusive Platform Incorporated
Inclusive Platform Incorporated, encourages all of its users to use people-first language (PFL) on the platform. Users can use the word "Person with Different Ability" and "Person of Determination" "POD" when they mention their peers with different abilities since we are keen to put people first and focus on their abilities with Inclusive.
Differently-abled people are of all age groups and perform various roles in their lives, just like everyone else. To use words that may demean a Person with unique abilities is not a recommended practice at Inclusive.
We use the word difference openly as Inclusive empowers everyone to embrace equality in all different abilities. We use the word "disabled" when describing an environment, a limitation in the system or a barrier in the society, that is inadequate in its existence and is not yet capable of empowering all people equally. Inclusive emphasizes that people are not disabled but the environment provided to any person can be limited. Therefore, using PFL is important to us at Inclusive and when describing specific requirements of our users with different abilities, we use the below language:
Visual Differences
A person with vision differences, Uniquely abled, Person with partial sight
Hearing Differences
Person with a hearing difference, Partial hearing with speech, Hearing-aid enabled, Differently abled, Empowered with a hearing aid
Mobility Differences
Person with mobility difference, Wheelchair enabled, Empowered with a wheelchair, A person who uses crutches
Cognitive Differences
A person with a cognitive difference, Differently abled, Uniquely abled. In the case of specific mentions, a person with Autism or a person with Down Syndrome, etc.
Speech/Communications Differences
A person with unique abilities to communicate, Person using sign language, Differently abled
Learning Differences
A person who uses different learning tools/technique, Unique learning skills
Mental Health Differences
Empowered with support
Emotional Differences
A person empowered with support
Invisible Difference:
A person with a different ability that is not visible
Short Stature
A person of short stature, An individual with a short stature
Health Conditions
Survivor, A person with health conditions, A person in recovery from, A person fighting "health condition name"
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” – Mark Twain