Avoid trendy euphemisms in describing people with disabilities. It is probably unnecessary to mention a person's disability. If the disability is not in any way relevant to the story or the issue, leave it out. If, however, a person's disability is relevant to a store or issue, it is important to understand the difference between impairment, disability and handicap. Impairment is a term used to characterize a physical, mental or physiological loss, abnormality or injury that causes a limitation in one or more major life functions.
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, from slight to profound, in a person who may benefit from a hearing aid or some other assistive device. Blind is a word most frequently used to describe severe vision loss. Either blind or visually impaired are acceptable term 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.