For years, no make that centuries, society has been trying to come up with an appropriate term for people who aren’t as agile/ academic/ co-ordinated as your typical full-functioning individual.
The Spastic Society was crippled by the ever-growing misuse of the word, forcing the charity to be rebranded as ‘Scope’. When the term ‘handicapped’ was wheelchaired over to the UK it gradually became outdated when the word’s origin was traced back to meaning ‘hand in cap’ in other words ‘to beg’.
We opened our ears to referring to Deaf people as having 'hearing loss', Blind people are now seen as ‘severely sight impaired’, short people are growing up with 'restricted growth' , those with an extra copy of chromosome 21 are living with ‘ Down Syndrome '.
It isn’t just the terms which have matured. Over the years we have come to recognise the abilities a disabled (that was the correct term to use at the time this article was being published) person has. Educational systems segregating students just because of their extra requirements are becoming as much use as learning algebra, inclusive sport is racing across finishing lines and disabled actors are becoming regulars down the Queen Vic and the Rovers Return.
Whilst technology is improving people’s lives there’s one area which we feel has been left behind…An entertaining website for disabled and non-disabled readers.
Well, guess what? You now have one! ABLE2UK delivers the latest showbiz news, sporting action and edgy humour related to disability and thanks to our glossary you can actually expand your ‘disabled’ knowledge along the way.
Over on social media we are keeping you posted with disabled stories, gossip and competitions – so make sure you follow us at @able2uk…If you don’t it will be your biggest handicap, sorry we mean disability…Oh, whatever term we should use nowadays…You know what we mean!
Our message is simple, just because you are disabled you are still #able2 do anything!
Enjoy the site.
Howard Thorpe
CEO & Founder of ABLE 2 UK
