Words Matter: The Language of Accessibilty

Drupal Camp Asheville 2024 - July 12th-14th

Room
Hopin Sessions
Start Time

Topics

Presenter(s)

Denise Erazmus
of
Promet Source
Denise Erazmus Photo

Words Matter and awareness of how powerful even the most subtle language distinctions can be is an important factor in understanding human experience.  In this presentation we will discuss the language used in daily life and examine how and why certain words and phrases can be hurtful to members of the disabled community -- even if no harm is intended.  Covered topics will include:

  • Shifting language perspectives/ how we see certain words
  • Ableism/how our words effect others
  • People first language
  • Identify first language
  • “Don’t” words

Target Audience

Anyone especially those who are client facing

Learning Objectives

Those who attend this session will leave with a greater understanding of how the language we use daily can be harmful to those around us. The goals is to gain insight into language in the hopes of making better choices in the words we chose. 

Prior Technical Knowledge

None, talk is non-technical.