Disability equality plan: part 1 - easy read

The words we choose

We believe in the Social Model of Disability.

The Social Model of Disability says that when disabled people are not included:

• the problem is not the disabled person
• there is nothing wrong with the disabled person
• the disabled person does not need to be fixed

The Social Model of Disability says that the problem is bad design.

A design can mean:

• the plan for a building or place
• a way of doing things

A bad design is a building or place, or a way of doing things, that does not work well for everybody.

A bad design sometimes means that disabled people are not included.

The Social Model of Disability says that when disabled people are not included:

• the problem is with bad designs
• the bad designs need to be fixed
• when the bad designs are fixed, then disabled people will be able to join in

The bad designs might be to do with places.

For example, a building without a lift or a ramp.

The bad designs might be to do with communications.

For example, a leaflet written in tiny writing.

The bad designs might be to do with rules and the way things are done.

For example, being told you have too many days off sick from work.

The bad designs might be to do with the things people believe.

For example, people being nasty to disabled people because they are different.

The social model of disability sees these bad designs as the reason disabled people are left out.

Disabled people can live the same lives as anyone else when bad designs are taken away.

We like to use the words ‘disabled people’ to show that the problem is the bad designs, not the people.

We try not to use the words ‘person with a disability’, because this can seem like the person is the problem.

In this plan we talk about DPOs.

DPOs are Disabled People’s Organisations.

DPOs are run by disabled people, for disabled people.