When referring to people with disabilities or particular conditions, use terms that emphasise the person first, rather than the person’s disability or condition:
people with disabilities not the disabled or the handicapped
person with epilepsy not an epileptic
people who inject drugs not injecting drug users
person living with cancer or person affected by cancer not a cancer sufferer or a cancer victim
Do not mention the disability or condition in contexts where it is not relevant. Wherever possible, portray people as individuals with qualities that override any physical or medical diagnosis.
Further advice on terminology for individuals with:
- epilepsy, seizures and seizure types is provided by the United Kingdom Epilepsy Society(Opens in a new tab/window)
- dementia is provided by Dementia Australia(Opens in a new tab/window)
- mental illness is provided by the Mental Health Coordinating Council(Opens in a new tab/window) and Mindframe(Opens in a new tab/window).
Also refer to the Disability language guide(Opens in a new tab/window) from People with Disability Australia.