Avoid portraying people with disabilities as superhuman, courageous, poor or unfortunate. People with disabilities do not want to be, nor should they be, measured against a separate set of expectations. Avoid using trendy euphemisms to describe people with disabilities. It is probably unnecessary in speaking, writing, producing audio or video tapes, or in promoting products to mention a person's disability. If the disability is not relevant, leave it out.
Disability refers to a limitation that affects an individual's ability to perform certain functions.
Handicap describes a barrier or problem created by society or the environment. Hard of hearing may be used to describe any degree of hearing loss. Blind most frequently is used to describe severe vision loss. Either blind or visually impaired are acceptable terms to describe all degrees of vision loss. Individuals with mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other similar long-term disabilities may be considered to have developmental disabilities.