Disability & Anti-Ableism Glossary

Able bodied: Persons who are temporarily non-disabled - which is the preferred term.

Ableism: A system of attitudes, beliefs, and actions that communicates that persons with disabilities have less value than non-disabled persons. Ableism assumes that “normal” is a valid social construct. See also Systemic Ableism.

Accessible/ accessibility: Environments and activities in which architectural, programmatic, and communication barriers to participation have been eliminated.

Accommodations: Measures that allow full participation in an activity or service through equitable access specific to a person’s needs, e.g., providing a sign language interpreter, offering materials in large print, digital or Braille formats, describing visual elements, offering alternative foods, or avoiding flashing lights.

Agency: The acknowledgment that all of us, disabled and non-disabled, have capacity to make independent decisions as subjects (not objects) in charge of our own bodies and lives.

Ally: A non-disabled person, or a person with a different disability (e.g., a Deaf person who advocates for accessibility for blind persons), who under the guidance of and alongside disabled persons, works for an inclusive and equitable church and society.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Signed into US law in 1990 and amended since then, this Act stipulates the minimum (not optimal) accessibility standards for covered public programs and buildings. Most sections do not apply to religious entities due to lobbying efforts at the time. However, churches with 15 or more employees are subject to ADA anti-discrimination laws.

Anti-ableism: Actions that seek to dismantle ableist and inaccessible systems and US law spaces and to create an inclusive and accessible society.

Audism: A variation of ableism that presumes that people who speak and hear are superior and discriminates against people using other forms of communication.

Barriers: Aspects of society and the church which exclude or prevent full active participation of persons with disabilities. These include architectural (stairs), communication (verbal messages), programmatic (not planning for disability accommodation) and attitudinal (“we don’t have any here”) barriers.

Belonging: This term recognizes that God’s kin-dom is for all of us and that all who wish to join in Christian community may share their gifts as welcome and equal participants. This takes the necessary work of inclusion even further, since inclusion implies that one group has the power to decide who to include. See Inclusion. 

Bias: Stigma due to a specific characteristic, in this case prejudice or discrimination against a person because they have a disability. See Implicit and Explicit bias.

Competing access needs: A dilemma faced when accommodations conflict, as in the need for bright or dim lights or using a service dog near someone with pet allergies.

Disability: An identity and protected class, not a medical condition. The term should not be interchanged with diagnoses, ability, or function. It is an individual’s choice to identify themself as disabled or not. While based on physical or mental differences that affect daily functioning within society, disability is a social construct defined by the same society that exacerbates difficulties through structures and systems that are not accessible or accommodating.

Disparities: Inequities in health, income, education, and other life conditions and outcomes experienced by disabled people compared with non-disabled people.

Diversity: Celebrating disability as one of the many human differences, and embracing that all of us, with our differences, have sacred worth.

Equity: Providing what each individual needs to participate in communal life.

Etiquette, disability: A term falling out of favor in the disability community because it implies that disabled people need special treatment. Includes appropriate communication and interaction practices with people who have disabilities, e.g., always asking before helping, or guiding a blind person by having them grasp one’s elbow.

Eugenics: A pseudoscientific approach that assumes that some bodies and minds are superior and often favors abortion, sterilization, non-treatment, or euthanasia of persons who do not meet a given standard.  Once promoted by the Methodist Church, the practice is still pervasive today, hence Resolution #3292 in The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church offers repentance. 

Explicit bias: Overt stereotyping and discrimination in which a person willfully treats persons with disabilities differently and more negatively than non-disabled persons.

Hidden/ invisible/ non-apparent disabilities: Disabilities not readily evident to others but that impact one’s life and may require accommodations for full participation. Examples include mental health needs, back injuries, severe allergies, chronic fatigue or pain, autism, and learning disabilities.

Identity-first language: A convention in language and writing that includes a person’s disability as an important part of their identity. This is preferred by specific groups such as autistic and culturally Deaf individuals. Compare this with Person-first language.

Implicit bias: Unconscious attitudes and prejudice against people with disabilities.

Inclusion/ inclusive: Efforts to make programs or ministries open to all persons, and to facilitate integration of children and/or adults with and without disabilities.

Infantilization: Treating disabled adults like children by disregarding their agency, shown in tone of voice, use of words like “girl” or “boy,” and a belief that people with disabilities are non-sexual.  See Agency.

Internalized ableism: Negative societal messages about disability that are believed by people with disabilities, which leads to low self-esteem and self-regard, rugged individualism, and lack of self-care.

Intersectionality: The complex web of all the facets of our identities that work together to create contextual advantages and disadvantages. For example, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), female, disabled, college-educated, wealthy,  LGBTQIA+, poor, citizen, or immigrant.

Marginalized: Groups, including disabled people, who are not consulted, are outside the societal power structures and for whom current systems are not designed. 

Medical model of disability: A worldview that holds that disabilities are the responsibility of the individual and need to be cured or fixed.

Moral or charity model of disability: A worldview that believes disabilities are caused by sin of the person or parents, should be pitied, and require healing through prayer and miracles.

Microaggressions: Casual insults and offensive actions, often not intended by the offender, experienced frequently by disabled people and others in oppressed groups.

Neurodivergent: An umbrella term that includes autism, dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), mental illness, and other variations from what is considered typical brain processing.  

Neurodiversity paradigm: A worldview that realizes that brains operate in varying ways and holds that such diversity contributes to the common good.

Non-disabled: The preferred terms for persons who do not currently have a disability.

Normal/ normate/ normalcy: Exhibiting species-typical behavior and characteristics – a non-valid social construct that is abused to mislabel and harm many disabled people.

Othering: Dismissing people who fit into a labeled category, such as disability, as not belonging, being of less worth or importance, or even as being sub-human.

Pass: Hiding one’s disability to fit in or avoid other negative consequences.

Patronization: A non-disabled person assuming to know what is best for a person with a disability, or treating them in a condescending manner.

Person-first language: A convention in writing or speaking which places the person as the subject and the disability as one attribute, e.g., child who has cerebral palsy, woman who is blind, man who is paralyzed, etc. This syntax is typically preferred by non-disabled professionals and family members, and some – often older – disabled individuals.

Plain language: Selecting words that can be easily understood. Avoiding long sentences, jargon, and theological language and focusing instead on getting the message across.

Privilege, able: The access that non-disabled people automatically have because buildings, programs, and communication systems are designed for non-disabled people.

Sensory-friendly: Events, designed for individuals with sensory processing differences, that may offer low lighting, calm pacing, and softer audio. 

Social environment: Interactions, procedures, and policies that may pose barriers and limit the participation of disabled people if they reflect ableism, bias, and stigma.

Social model of disability: A worldview that considers disabilities as a normal part of the diverse spectrum of life.  The model focuses on providing appropriate support and eliminating societal and architectural barriers to enable full participation of disabled people.

Speaking center: Placing the perspectives and input of disabled people in the forefront when discussing issues and solutions relating to disability.

Spread effect: Assuming that disability affects all aspects of a person; e.g., that someone with a physical disability has a cognitive disability, or a blind person needs loud speech.

Systemic/ institutionalized ableism: Practices embedded into any power structure that discriminate against people with disabilities and lead to disparities in education, housing, justice, healthcare, employment, and more.

Trauma-informed practices: A set of approaches that promote a sense of safety, support, and empowerment for the large number of individuals who have experienced trauma.  Trauma not only includes enduring abuse and witnessing atrocities but also the accumulated impact of experiences of oppression and adversities common to marginalized groups.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A human rights document adopted in 2006 which aims to improve the status of and opportunities for people with disabilities around the world.

Universal design: A set of principles whereby the built environment is designed to be flexible and adaptive enough to meet the needs of nearly all users.

Universal design for learning: An application of universal design which offers learners multiple ways of perceiving, engaging with, and responding to information.

Vulnerable adult: A person 18 or older who is unable to protect themselves from abuse, neglect, or exploitation, typically because they are unable to recognize risk, communicate choices, or remove themselves safely from potential or actual harm.