1. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Disability and Mental Health: Editing for Clarity and Accuracy Anya Weber Copywriter and Editor Institute for Community Inclusion SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

2. Sources of awkwardness 1.Fear of saying the wrong thing 2.Constantly shifting rules 3.Lack of consensus

3. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Today we’ll look at: ▸Helpful versus harmful approaches to disability language ▸Person-first language ▸Adapting some examples of awkward or stigmatizing language ▸Mental health issues (a subset of disability with its own complexities)

4. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Quick poll: Where do you work? ▸Journalism ▸Higher ed ▸Nonprofit ▸Corporate ▸Freelance ▸Other?

5. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Relevant across our fields ▸15% - 20% of the US population has a disability ▸Big chunk of your readership ▸Visible or invisible (apparent/non-apparent) s ▸Self-identified / not self-identified

6. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Ever-evolving rules crippled

7. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Ever-evolving rules crippled handicapped

8. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Ever-evolving rules crippled handicapped disabled

9. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Ever-evolving rules crippled handicapped disabled uses a wheelchair

10. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Person-First Language The woman who... … sustained a traumatic brain injury... walks with a cane... uses hearing aids The man who... … is blind … has ALS … is on the autism spectrum

11. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Person-First Language Avoid language that makes the person sound like a victim: “is afflicted with” “suffers from” “victim of paraplegia”

12. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT From a national newspaper [The mayor’s] ambitious plan for cutting the number of mentally ill people in [the city’s] jails will require a great deal of ingenuity and a big shift in priorities… Nearly 40 percent of the more than 11,000 inmates in city jails suffer from mental illness, up from about 25 percent just seven years ago. (2014)

13. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT From a national magazine 40 worst-dressed cities: Boston has “a kind of Style Down Syndrome, where a little extra ends up ruining everything.’’ (2011)

14. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Better ways to say it Marie is wheelchair-bound, so all the snow this winter created problems for her commute.

15. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Better ways to say it Marie is wheelchair-bound, so all the snow this winter created problems for her commute. Marie uses a wheelchair, so all the snow this winter created problems for her commute. wheelchair-bound confined to a wheelchair

16. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Better ways to say it Khalifa’s daughter has mental retardation. The family is working with the school system to get special education services.

17. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Better ways to say it Khalifa’s daughter has mental retardation. The family is working with the school system to get special education services. Khalifa’s daughter has intellectual disabilities. The family is working with the school system to get special education services. Khalifa’s daughter has Down syndrome. The family is working with the school system to get special education services.

18. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Avoid lumping people together under a label. the blind the disabled the handicapped the able-bodied

19. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Questions?

20. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Let’s improve these sentences 1.In 2014, Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This legislation makes it easier for the disabled to find jobs. 2.The nurse checked to make sure the Down syndrome patient was comfortable and had eaten lunch. 3.A man with a cane, a woman with dyslexia, and a rabbi wearing dark glasses walked into a bar.

21. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Improved language ▸In 2014, Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This legislation makes it easier for people with disabilities to find jobs. ▸The nurse checked to make sure the Down syndrome patient was comfortable and had eaten lunch. ▸A man with a cane, a woman with dyslexia, and a rabbi wearing dark glasses walked into a bar.

22. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Improved language ▸In 2014, Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This legislation makes it easier for people with disabilities to find jobs. ▸The nurse checked to make sure the patient with Down syndrome was comfortable and had eaten lunch. ▸A man with a cane, a woman with dyslexia, and a rabbi wearing dark glasses walked into a bar.

23. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Improved language ▸In 2014, Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This legislation makes it easier for people with disabilities to find jobs. ▸The nurse checked to make sure the patient with Down syndrome was comfortable and had eaten lunch. ▸A man with a cane, a woman with dyslexia, and a rabbi wearing dark glasses walked into a bar. (fine as is)

24. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT How do we keep up with the state of the art? ▸Resources on handout ▸Association of University Centers on Disabilities (aucd.org) ▸Associated Press Stylebook (includes section on disability)

25. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Let’s improve this blog excerpt. Our new drug, Somalex, provides relief to people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, Somalex has been shown to help wheelchair-bound patients to improve their mobility by 28% over a placebo. “Somalex has been a lifesaver,” says Clinton Smith, who has been afflicted with MS since he turned 22. Now 45, Smith found that Somalex has helped with his muscle spasticity and has improved his bladder control.

26. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Improved blog excerpt: Our new drug, Somalex, provides relief to people who have multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, Somalex has been shown to help patients who use wheelchairs to improve their mobility by 28% over a placebo. “Somalex has been a lifesaver,” says Clinton Smith, who was diagnosed with MS at the age of 22. Now 45, Smith found that Somalex has helped with his muscle spasticity and has improved his bladder control.

27. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Questions/Comments?

28. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Where does mental health fit in? ▸Mental health issues ▸Mental health disabilities ▸Mental illness Examples: depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia Great resource: Melissa McCoy’s talk

29. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Avoiding stigma “The weather in Boston has been schizophrenic this month, with temperatures ranging from 25 to 70 degrees.” “The Seahawks have had a bipolar season—fans have experienced euphoria and despair in the course of each game.” What’s wrong with this?

30. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT She could be bipolar.

31. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT He could have schizophrenia.

32. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Seek out neutral and positive mental health stories. ▸New depression medication called off the market ▸Group therapy at homeless shelter ▸Meditation helps with depression and anxiety

33. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Questions? Comments?

34. SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Disability and Mental Health: Editing for Clarity and Accuracy Anya Weber Copywriter and Editor Institute for Community Inclusion SCHOOL FOR GLOBAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT