If an infant is harmed (by a medical complication and/or negligent actions of medical professionals) during or around the time of birth, this is considered a birth injury. When many people hear the term “birth injury,” they are likely to think of, for example, broken or fractured bones. However, many birth injuries involve more systemic […]
Disability Terminology: Choosing the Right Words When Talking About Disability
When speaking to or about someone with a disability, it’s important to make note of which terms are offensive, outdated, and inappropriate. Throughout this page, we’ll unpack why certain terms are used and take a deeper look inside the debate on disability terminology. Different Schools of Thought Person-first language Many institutions, including The American Psychological […]
Interacting with People with Disabilities: Etiquette Tips and Guidelines
Talking to someone with a disability is just like talking to anyone else. But occasionally, you might feel you are saying or doing the wrong thing. The following are some basic tips for spending time and communicating with individuals with disabilities, as compiled from helpful resources on the United Cerebral Palsy and the Eastern Paralyzed […]
The Straw Ban: Balancing Environmental Concerns with Disability Rights
Why ban straws? Each day, Americans use approximately 500 million drinking straws. According to the National Park Service (NPS), this amount could fill 46,400 school buses every year (1). Straws and other plastic products take a very long time to decompose. Therefore, they either end up in landfills or make their way to the ocean, […]
How to Behave Around Service Dogs
If you do not personally work with a service dog, or have someone close to you who does, it can be difficult to know how to behave around them. Even well-meaning people often make faux pas when it comes to service dog etiquette and rules. Some of these errors may simply annoy service dog owners, […]