The following is a list of terms used to describe people with disabilities or disabilities, these terms may be considered negative and/or offensive by people with or without disabilities.

There is a great deal of disagreement as to what should be considered offensive. Views vary with geography and culture, over time, and among individuals. Many terms that some people view as offensive are not viewed as offensive by others, and even where some people are offended by certain terms, others may be offended by the replacement of such terms with what they consider to be euphemisms (e.g., "differently abled" or "special needs"). Some people believe that terms should be avoided if they might offend people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms used with non-offensive intent.

B

• "Brain problems" A term that implies the person lacks a fully functioning brain and is incapable of acting rationally. Offensive because the term is too general and is used to describe an illness that is beyond the individual's control.

C

• Cripple used to mean "a person with a physical or mobility impairment." Its shortened form, "crip" is often used by firebrand
  Firebrand
  The word Firebrand has several uses:* A piece of burning wood * A person with a penchant for militancy in speech and/or action-Vehicles:*Blackburn Firebrand, an aircraft constructed for the Royal Navy...
  
   people with disabilities as a term of endearment. See also the essay On Being a Cripple by Nancy Mairs
  Nancy Mairs
  Nancy Mairs is an author who writes about diverse topics, including spirituality, women's issues and her experiences living with multiple sclerosis. She was born on July 23, 1943 in Long Beach, California. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, however. She received an AB from Wheaton College, and...
  
  .

D

• "Differently abled". While it may have been originally intended to draw the attention away from the person's disability to an area where he or she excels (music, or math, as two examples), the phrase can come across as being patronizing or condescending toward that person.
• "Diseased". Can be construed as an insult when referring to a non-transmittable disability.
• "Downy". Refers to someone with Down syndrome. Often used to insult a non-affected person by implying that the person has the disability.
• "Dimwit". Used as an insult toward someone without a very high intelligence.
• "Dwarf". See Midget.

G

• Gimp used to refer to people with physical disabilities and, like crip, is being reclaimed for positive use among people with disabilities.

H

• Handicapped used to mean "person with a disability", and handicap for "disability".
• Hysterical
  Hysteria
  Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
  
   used to be a blanket term for many conditions affecting women; it is derived from the Greek word hysteria which means "womb". It is now generally considered to be offensive when applied to a woman, because it implies her health problems are psychiatric in origin. The term mass hysteria does not carry the same connotations.

I

• Imbecile
  Imbecile
  Imbecile is a term for moderate to severe mental retardation, as well as for a type of criminal. It arises from the Latin word imbecillus, meaning weak, or weak-minded. "Imbecile" was once applied to people with an IQ of 26-50, between "moron" and "idiot" .The term was further refined into mental...
  
   was the formal term used for persons with an IQ of 25-50. It has since been phased out of formal use.
• Idiot
  Idiot
  An idiot, dolt, or dullard is a mentally deficient person, or someone who acts in a self-defeating or significantly counterproductive way. Archaically the word mome has also been used. The similar terms moron, imbecile, and cretin have all gained specialized meanings in modern times. An idiot is...
  
   was the formal term for persons with an IQ of 0-25. It is also no longer used.

J

• Jerry's Kid - As a reference to the longtime work of Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, "Jerry's Kid" has been used as a derogatory term for someone with Physical and/or Mental disabilities.
• Joey
  Joey
  - Animals :* Joey , an infant marsupial* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets-People with the given name Joey:* Joey Benjamin , English cricketer* Joey Bishop , entertainer...
  
  , used as a derogatory term for someone with Cerebral Palsy
  Cerebral palsy
  Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
  
   (see Joey Deacon
  Joey Deacon
  Joseph John "Joey" Deacon was a British author and television personality.-Biography:Joseph "Joey" Deacon was born with severe cerebral palsy, a neurological condition which left him with a muscular "spastic pattern", particularly arms and legs, resulting in a tendency of muscular tonus in the...
  
  ).

L

• Lame
  Lame
  Lame may refer to:* Lameness , lameness in horses* LAME, MP3 encoder* "Lame" , song by Unwritten Law* Licensed aircraft maintenance engineer...
  
  . An antiquated reference to difficulty walking or moving.

The term has since been adopted into urban slang to generally refer to something or someone as "meaningless" or "without worth."

M

• Midget
  Midget
  A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small...
  
  . The word is used to mean "dwarf" and is widely considered offensive.
• "Mongol," "Mongoloid," "Mong," or "Mongolism" for Down syndrome
  Down syndrome
  Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
  
   originated from the perception that facial features of people with Down syndrome were similar to those of people from Mongolia
  Mongolia
  Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
  
  . The term is widely considered offensive.
• Moron
  Moron (psychology)
  Moron is a term once used in psychology to denote mild mental retardation. The term was closely tied with the American eugenics movement. Once the term became popularized, it fell out of use by the psychological community, as it was used more commonly as an insult than as a psychological...
  
   was formerly a formal term used for persons with an IQ of 50-75. It is no longer used in a medical context and has generally acquired negative implications.

P

• Pinhead is a vulgar term denoting a person afflicted with the congenital deformity :microcephaly. Microcephalics have been exhibited in :freak shows billed as "human pinheads"; :Zip the Pinhead was famously exhibited by P. T. Barnum for many years. Microcephalics are characterized by a small, tapering cranium and often, though not always, impaired mental faculty, which is the basis for the disparaging, :ad hominem abusive, attribution of the term pinhead to others with whom the speaker disagrees or believes to be illogical.

R

• "Retard" literally means slow. It is used to describe someone with a learning disability, mental retardation, a significantly low IQ, or some other learning or developmental disability); this term "retard" is used as a vulgar term and is not used, unless it is deliberately used as a term of offense. Since there is no other connotation other than negative, it is always offensive.

• "Retarded" is prefaced by indicators such as Mild, Moderate, Severe or Profound. Retarded as a description of one's cognitive and adaptive functioning is a clinical diagnosis. In that respect, the term is not generally considered offensive and can be used to convey a great deal of information very quickly such as: IQ range, adaptive skills, level of care needs, etc. Increasing levels of mental retardation are associated with increasing degrees of brain damage. There has been at least some movement to replace the term 'retardation' with other terms such as 'developmentally disabled' or 'learning disabled' in both medical and educational settings.

S

• "Schizo" or "Schizoid" for schizophrenia
  Schizophrenia
  Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
  
   is still in wide use among the general population, but has generally negative connotations.
• "Slow" or Slow learner as used to describe someone with a learning disability
  Learning disability
  Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
  
   has generally acquired negative connotations.
• Spazz (or "Spaz," "Spazzy," "Spack," or "Spackhead") as used to describe someone with cerebral palsy
  Cerebral palsy
  Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
  
   has acquired negate connotations to some people.
• Special Ed
  Special education
  Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
  
   is sometimes used to patronize, but is also still fairly commonly used as an official term in the educational system.

W

• "Wheelchair-bound" for someone who uses a wheelchair is unacceptable because of the word "bound" being used in it, which is akin to slavery
  Slavery
  Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
  
  's chain
  Chain
  A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
  
  s. "Wheelchair user" or "person who uses a wheelchair" is preferred, referring to the wheelchair as a tool rather than an entrapment
  Entrapment
  In criminal law, entrapment is conduct by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit. In many jurisdictions, entrapment is a possible defense against criminal liability...
  
  .

Y

• "Yuppie
  Yuppie
  Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
  
   flu" used as a pejorative term for chronic fatigue syndrome
  Chronic fatigue syndrome
  Chronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name used to designate a significantly debilitating medical disorder or group of disorders generally defined by persistent fatigue accompanied by other specific symptoms for a minimum of six months, not due to ongoing exertion, not substantially...
  
  . This originated from the media stereotype
  Stereotype
  A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
  
   of people with CFS as ambitious, young, and affluent, and having an illness indistinguishable from influenza
  Influenza
  Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
  
  , neither of which are accurate portrayals.