Glossary
Terms used in accessibility research and practice. Each entry has a definition, common aliases, and category tags.
Search results
- Ableist Language(also: Disability Slurs, Derogatory Disability Language)
- Ableist language refers to words, phrases, and framings that demean, stereotype, or pathologize people with disabilities — from explicit slurs such as 'cripple,' 'handicap,' 'retard,' or 'lame' used pejoratively, to subtler framings like 'suffers from,' 'wheelchair-bound,' or…
- Ableist Microaggressions Scale(also: AMS)
- A validated measurement instrument developed by Conover, Israel, and Nylund-Gibson (2017) to systematically assess the frequency and impact of subtle, everyday expressions of ableism. The AMS organises disability microaggressions into four empirically supported domains —…
- Academic Ableism
- Systemic discrimination against disabled people within academic institutions and research practices. In higher education, academic ableism manifests through inaccessible learning environments, expectations of productivity that do not account for disability, and research…
- Aesthetic Blindness
- Aesthetic blindness is a myth and misconception rooted in ableism that assumes blind people cannot perceive, appreciate, or create beauty because beauty is rendered solely through visual means. This assumption has historically led to the exclusion of blind and low vision people…
- Aversive Disablism(also: Aversive Ableism, Subtle Disablism)
- Aversive disablism is a concept from disability studies, developed by Mark Deal, describing a form of subtle, often unconscious prejudice toward disabled people. Aversive disablists recognize that discrimination is wrong and do not see themselves as prejudiced, yet they hold…
5 results.