Writing About Accessibility and Disability: Do and Don't List

Identity

People’s preferences for how they identify vary greatly, and some choose to reject labels altogether, so there isn’t one way of identifying people with disabilities on which everyone agrees. Still, most prefer to be recognized first as a person, not defined primarily by their disability.

Do:

  • Put the person first: "Person with a disability;" "People who are deaf or hard of hearing"
  • Mention disability when it's relevant: "Uses a screen reader because he's blind;" "Her injury resulted in paralysis"

Don't:

  • Prioritize the disability: "Disabled person" or "the disabled;" "the deaf"
  • Mention disability when it's unnecessary: "Loves music and he's blind;" "She's paralyzed and active in politics"

Neutrality

Sometimes people without disabilities may default to feeling badly for people with disabilities; however, many people with disabilities do not feel badly for themselves and do not think of their disability as inherently bad, and many consider the uniqueness of their disability to be a strength. Most people don’t feel they have a lower quality of life because of a disability, or that they’re necessarily brave or heroic for living with a disability.

Do:

  • Use neutral and factual language: "Had a stroke;" "Completed a marathon"
  • Use inclusive language: "Everyone, including people with disabilities"
  • Communicate importance of accessibility: "Accessibility makes the information available"

Don't:

  • Express pity or overly-positive emotion: "Stroke victim;" "Inspires because she achieves despite..."
  • Imply "the other": "Disabled and everyone else;" "Able" vs. "disabled," "normal" vs. "abnormal"
  • Suggest a reduced quality of life: "Suffers with a disability;" "Needs accessibility to lead a full life"

Accessibility as an expectation

The inaccessibility of physical and digital spaces can make tasks difficult or impossible for some people to complete independently, including with any assistive technology they may use (like wheelchairs or screen readers). Still, accessibility shouldn’t be written about in a way that implies people with disabilities are being helped, provided for, or taken care of because of it; instead, accessibility in many areas should be expected as a right.

Do:

  • Empower: "Prefers to use online chat;" "He navigates with a white cane"
  • Mention assistive technology people use: "Uses a wheelchair;" "Uses a screen reader"

Don't:

  • Position people as being helped or provided for: "They help her communicate by offering chat;" "The white cane lets him walk around"
  • Suggest reliance on or limitation by technology: "Wheelchair-bound;" "Relies on a screen reader"

Generalizations

There are so many types of disabilities, they can vary in permanence and severity, and they impact everyone differently. So, it’s important not to generalize or make assumptions about how people feel, what they do, or how they do it. Unless a statement is always true, it should be softened or qualified. Accuracy in all writing is important, but because of the sensitivity of writing about specific groups of people, including groups of people who have been marginalized and misunderstood historically, it is perhaps even more important in this context.

Do:

  • Ensure accuracy: "10% of people who are blind know Braille;" "Captions provide the information in text"
  • Get specific: "People with dyslexia may read more slowly;" "Use services animals for certain tasks"

Don't:

  • Make assumptions: "Blind people read with Braille;" "Deaf people appreciate closed captions"
  • Generalize: "Dyslexics read slowly;" "Disables use service animals for a better life"

Writing Style Guide

Our mission

Our mission is to create objective and trustworthy information and resources to become a catalyst for equal access to the physical and digital worlds.

Readership

Business owners and others who need or want to learn about accessibility, reasonable accommodations, legal requirements regarding accessibility or disability rights, and how to meet related expectations are our primary audience.

Anyone may find interest and value in our content.

Editorial guidelines

Accuracy

Complete accuracy of information is more important than anything else.

All writers know that anything published should be accurate. Considering that the subject matter will often be legal, sensitive, or both, 100% accuracy is the bare-minimum expectation.

If there can be instances in which what is being presented may not always be true, please use conditional words like "may" or "could." If there is doubt to the accuracy of information presented or reliability of sources, please share that information with the editorial team.

Sensitivity

Writing about disability and people with disabilities requires inherent sensitivity to and respect for the individual differences that make us collectively human.

For specific examples of our expectations when writing about accessibility and disability, please review the Do and Don't List.

Voice, tone, and nature of content

Strive to create content that is:

  • Informational, but not unnecessarily stodgy or complicated
  • Conversational while remaining authentic and trustworthy
  • Educational, as Accessibility.com is an authority in this space

Some of the topics may create strong personal opinion or call to mind personal or anecdotal references. If you have personal points to include that would strengthen the purpose of the content for the reader, please bring that information to the editorial team for discussion. Unless previously discussed or specifically assigned as such, most content should remain factual, free of personal bias, and free of personal reference.

Structure and format

As the writer, you have discretion to present information in the way that will best serve the purpose of the piece. To improve readability, accessibility, and SEO, consider:

  • Adding subheadings to break up walls of text and make content easier to read
  • Using keywords in titles, subheadings, and in higher placements in the content
  • Using lists or other scannable formats

Elements like tables, graphics, or other visuals have special accessibility considerations. If you plan to incorporate content types other than text, please discuss it with the editorial team first.

Specifics

Capitalization
  • Article titles will be in title case, following Chicago Style.
  • Subheadings will be in sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns.
Punctuation
  • Oxford (serial) comma: Use it.
  • Article titles and subheadings will be free from ending punctuation, except question marks and exclamation points.
Quotations
  • If it's in quotation marks, the expectation is that it is an identical match to the source, unless clarified with brackets or notes.
  • Quotation marks should not be used to indicate casual language or figures of speech. We reserve their use for quotes only.
Hyperlinks
  • Avoid generic links like "click here."
  • Carefully choose link language that gives the reader reasonable confidence as to where it'll take them.
  • If the same destination is being linked to multiple times, use the same link language for each instance.
  • Avoid using the same link language for different destinations.
  • If a link points to a PDF, add "(PDF)" to the link language.