Letters to the Editor 8-13-15

Disability population
EDITOR: Thank you for the article about the disability access issues at the Sonoma West Medical Foundation.  It’s time, however, to bring the Sonoma West up to 21st century proper terminology when writing about people with disabilities.  The word “handicapped” is no longer used to designate people with disabilities.  That term has a negative connotation, disabled people begging with cap in hand, a vision that dates back centuries and maintains the image of people who depend upon charity, rather than people who have rights equal to everyone else in this country.  Also, it’s really offensive to refer to someone who uses a wheelchair as “wheelchair bound.”  This term is unnecessarily negative and promotes pity.  You can write:  someone who uses a wheelchair, someone who is a wheelchair user or, my favorite which is a more positive and efficient description, someone who is wheelchair mobile.  For example, you can write, “Richard Skaff, a wheelchair mobile resident of Guerneville. So, accessible facilities are not “handicap” facilities but would be referred to as an accessible patient room, accessible treatment room, an accessible examination room, etc. and would include accessible beds and examination tables which lower for easy transfer for someone who is wheelchair mobile. Here’s a web site that can provide you more understanding on how to refer to someone in the disability population.  www.traponline.com/al2.pdf  Thank you for your attention to this.
 
Sincerely,
HolLynn D’Lil