Our l Language is a powerful tool for changing community attitudes, promoting inclusion and fostering disability pride. Throughout history, people with disability have fought for changes to language that reflect their human rights.

We know language is always changing, and we recognise that words are powerful and have different meaning for different people. We recognise that people with disability have different preferences regarding how they describe their disability. We also acknowledge that there is no universal conceptualisation of disability, which is perceived in culturally specific ways

Person-first Identity-first language

At Lead Community Support Services, we have chosen to use both person-first and identity-first language. Person-first language puts the person before their disability – for example, ‘person with disability’. Person-first language was first used to emphasise a person’s right to an identity beyond their disability and as a way of addressing ableism. 

We know person-first language continues to be an important part of many people’s identity, particularly for many people with cognitive disability and self advocates. We also know that many people with disability prefer to use what is known as ‘identify-first’ language. Identity-first language puts a person’s disability identity before the person – for example, ‘disabled person’. 

We recognise that many people with disability prefer to use identity-first language because they see their disability as a key part of their identity. They use identity-first language to show their connection to the disability community, demonstrate disability pride and emphasise that it is society that is disabling (in line with the ‘social model’ of disability). We recognise that identity-first language is important to the many people with disability who have advocated for the use of this language.