Disability Etquette. National Disability Rights Network

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WEBSITE: WWW.NDRN.ORG 􀂌 E-MAIL: INFO@NDRN.ORG

Disability Etiquette

Reporting and Writing About People with Disabilities

The following guidelines are suggestions for using language in a more sensitive manner that avoids reducing individuals to a series of labels, symptoms, or medical terms. Advocating for media representatives to be aware of how they use language regarding individuals with disabilities and their families does not suppress freedom of speech. Rather, these suggestions are intended to guide media representatives about how words really do make a difference.
Read the guidelines here.

Words Matter

The following list depicts phrases and terms that are generally considered appropriate, as well as terms and phrases to avoid using. Please keep in mind that language is constantly evolving and not everyone has the same preference, so the best guideline when referring to people is to ASK.
Read Words Matter here.

Commonly Used Acronyms

The following list of acronyms are commonly used on NDRN's website and on our publications.
Read the list of acronyms here.





A | B | C | D | F | H | I | L | M | N | O | P| Q | R | S | T | U

A
	ACF AC ADA ADD ATC	Administration for Children and Families Advisory Council Americans with Disabilities Act Administration on Development Disabilities Assistive Technology Center
B
	BOD	Board of Directors
C
	CAP CCD CMHS CMS	Client Assistance Program Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities Center for Mental Health Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA - Health Care Financing Administration)
D
	DD DD Act DDC DSA	Developmental Disabilities Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Developmental Disabilities Council Designated State Agency
F
	FY	Fiscal Year
H
	HAVA	Help America Vote Act
I
	IDEA ILCs	Individual with Disabilities Education Act Independent Living Centers
L
	LD	Learning Disability
M
	MI MR MTARS	Mental Illness Mental Retardation Monitoring and Technical Assistance Review System
N
	NDRN NIDRR	National Disability Rights Network (formerly NAPAS - National Association of Protection & Advocacy Systems) National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research
O
	OMB OSERS	Office of Management & Budget Office of Special Education Rehabilitation Services
P
	PAAT PABSS PADD PAIMI PAIR PAVA PPR PR	Protection & Advocacy for Obtaining Assistive Technology Protection & Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security Protection & Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Protection & Advocacy for Individual Rights Protection& Advocacy for Voting Access Program Performance Report Public Relations
R
	RSA Rehab Act	Rehabilitation Services Administration Rehabilitation Act
S
	SAMHSA SOP SSA	Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Statement of Objectives & Priorities Social Security Administration
T
	TASC TASR TBI Tech Act	Training and Advocacy Support Center (formerly ATTAC – Advocacy Training and Technical Assistance Center) Technical Assistance Site Review (CMHS) Traumatic Brain Injury Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act
U
	UAP UCE	University Affiliated Program University Centers for Excellence in Development Disabilities Education, Research and Service