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Condition
Words to use:
- has a diagnosis of
Words to avoid:
- illness - suggests the person could get better
- suffers from
- survivor
- diagnosed with - this is a medical professional's opinion
Disabled or disability
Words to use:
- has a protected characteristic (Equality Act 2010)
- non-disabled - the opposite of disabled
Words to avoid:
- handicapped - negative associations with begging
- spastic - negative associations and implies lack of self control
- invalid - implies a person is not valid
- crippled - negative associations and implies helplessness
- patient - implies the person may get better
- normal people - implies some are abnormal
- abled bodied - implies some are not able
Hearing and vision
Words to use:
- person with sight or hearing loss
- has sight or hearing loss
Words to avoid:
- problems seeing or hearing - might not be a problem
- sight, hearing or sensory impairment - can mean weak or diminished
- hard of hearing - negative
- a bit blind or deaf - belittling
- the deaf or the blind - dehumanising
Learning
Words to avoid:
- intellectual disability – not used in the UK
- cognitive impairment – used in medical contexts
- slow learner or backward
Mental health
Words to use:
- has experiences of mental health
- has a mental health condition or diagnosis
- has or has a diagnosis of (anxiety, depression, bipolar)
Words to avoid:
- mental illness - implies sickness
- diagnosed with - this is a medical professional's opinion
Mobility
Words to use:
- walks with or uses a mobility aid
- wheelchair user
Words to avoid:
- mobility impaired - implies weakness
- mobility problems - may not be a problem
- wheelchair bound - implies burden or being confined
Neurodiversity
Words to use:
- neurodiverse
- neurotypical
Words to avoid:
- special
- hyper
- anal
- behavioural issues
Further information
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internal A to Z of house style
The NHS Digital A to Z of house style covers style, spelling and grammar conventions for both online and offline content, arranged alphabetically.
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internal Writing tips
An overview of how we write in clear, concise and simple language that everybody can understand.
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internal Writing for the web
How to tailor our content so that it works online
Last edited: 24 June 2019 2:27 pm