Recommended language

Language to be avoided

person with disability
person with [type of impairment]
persons with disabilities
people with disabilities (only in Easy Read documents, informal text and oral speech)

disabled person, handicapped, person with special needs, handicapable, atypical, person living with a disability, differently abled, people of all abilities, people of determination, person living with a disability

person without disability
the rest of the population

normal, healthy, able-bodied, typical, whole, of sound body/mind

have [disability/impairment/condition]

suffer from, afflicted by, stricken by, troubled with

person with an intellectual disability
person with an intellectual impairment

retarded, simple, slow, afflicted, brain-damaged, intellectually challenged, subnormal, of unsound mind, feeble-minded, mentally handicapped

person with a psychosocial disability

insane, crazy, maniac, psycho, hypersensitive, lunatic, demented, panicked, agitated, mentally deranged, mentally ill

deaf person
person who is deaf
person with a hearing disability
person with a hearing impairment
person with hearing loss
hard-of-hearing person
deafblind person

the deaf, hearing impaired, deaf and dumb, deaf and mute

blind person
person who is blind
person with a vision/visual disability
person with a vision/visual impairment
person with low vision
deafblind person

the blind, partially-sighted

person with a physical disability
person with a physical impairment

crippled, invalid, deformed, lame, handicapped, physically challenged, person with physical limitations, limp

wheelchair user
person who uses a wheelchair
person with a mobility disability
person with a mobility impairment
person using a mobility device

confined/restricted to a wheelchair
wheelchair-bound

person of short stature
little person
person with achondroplasia (only if the person has this condition)

midget, dwarf, stunted

person with Down syndrome
person with trisomy-21

mongoloid, special person, Down

person with albinism

albino

person who uses a communication device
person who uses an alternative method of communication

non-verbal, can't talk

accessible parking
parking reserved for persons with disabilities
accessible bathroom

disabled/handicapped parking
handicapped bathroom