Question of the month:

QUESTION:

Is it ok to use the term Handicapped?

ANSWER:

No. People first language is preferred: a person with a disability.

The word “handicapped” goes back to the 1800s, from the phrase “cap in hand,” describing people with disabilities who were forced to beg. By the early 1900s, it replaced harsher words like “crippled” or “invalid,” but it still framed people with disabilities as dependent and pitiable.

By the 1970s, “handicapped” was stamped into federal law — the Rehabilitation Act (1973) and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975). But beginning in the 1980s, the disability rights movement demanded a shift.

Congress listened. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) deliberately used the term disability and rejected handicapped. When President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA, he echoed this vision, declaring, “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.”

Updating language is about respecting people’s dignity and aligning with terminology in longstanding law.

When new contracts, policies, or signage are updated, the outdated word “handicap” and other derogatory terms should be removed and replaced with respectful language consistent with the ADA and Idaho code that uses people-first language. Policies and updates should be included in the City’s Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan to ensure that every new sign, document, or contract reflects this standard. The word “handicap” should not be used to describe a person, a space, or a service.

For example:

• Do not say “handicapped person” → use person with a disability
• Do not say “handicapped parking” → use the ISA symbol (and add “Van Accessible” where required).
• Do not say “handicapped bathroom” → use the ISA symbol to identify accessible restrooms.