What’s in a name? By Zandra Vaccarino, National Executive Officer, NZDSA.
Kia ora Words have power and we all react to certain words in a particular way and some words have power to empower and others to discriminate and sometimes they offend, even if it wasn’t the intent. I am uncomfortable with the term intellectual disability but it is a widely used term. I know that members of People First have advocated to use learning disability but I personally prefer to use learning differences. I wish that all of society recognised, accepted and celebrated diversity and difference and acknowledged that we may all need different levels of support and adaptations instead of needing to use labels to describe people. Unfortunately, we have not reached that stage, so at times we are forced to use certain language so that individuals can access the support or services they need to participate and shape the life they want to lead. I think it is universally accepted that we use People First language – a person with Down syndrome not a Down syndrome person. However, the term disabled people does seem divisive and it can seem inconsistent with People First language, so it is with reluctance that I use this term because people may misunderstand. However, it is the language used in official New Zealand documents, cabinet papers and the New Zealand Disability Strategy. It is a term that I will need to use when discussing System Transformation in the Mid Central region. Therefore, I thought it would be good to explain that the term disabled people is located in the social model of disability which locates disability in society, it is the disabling barriers society puts in
CHAT 21 | Issue 75, Spring 2018
place versus the medical model of disability which locates disability within the person. The New Zealand Disability Strategy describes disabled people as people who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments w h i c h i n i n te ra c t i o n with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. I am very short-sighted which isn’t a problem as I wear contact lenses but if I didn’t and I was not able to access lenses, then societal issues would disable me. We c o u l d a l l l i s t examples of barriers in our community that are disabling and as a result create an environment that disables people, hence the term disabled people or a disabled person.
System Transformation
The System Transformation prototype of the new disability support system rolled on October 1 in the MidCentral region. I am fortunate to live in this region and I am looking forward to the empowering changes this transformation will bring for disabled people and their family and whānau. However, I am aware that change always brings uncertainty and soon misconceptions arise and then myths soon start circulating. One myth I recently heard is that carer support is going to be taken away. I realise that hearing this would cause lots of stress to our members, if it was a fact. Yes, there is a change coming, but it is a positive change. The Ministry is replacing Carer Support with a more flexible type of respite support called
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