Terminology
When the New Zealand Disability Strategy was being developed there was discussion about using the term 'disabled people' or other options such as 'people with disabilities' or 'people with experience of disability'. The Ministry of Social Development provides some background to the decision to use the term 'disabled people' in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The reasoning was as follows:
- People are people first.
- They have particular impairments or conditions, that is, they are people with impairments (eg, a person with a vision impairment, or a hearing loss, or limited mobility).
- Attitudinal and physical barriers in the world we all live in disable them.
- Therefore, they are disabled people (or, more accurately, people disabled by the way we build and organise our world). 'Disabled' refers to things outside the person that impact on them and put barriers in the way of their participation.
For this reason we refer to disabled people throughout this page.
However, individuals and groups can continue to use the language they feel most comfortable with, such as 'people with an intellectual disability' or 'people with learning disabilities'. Read more about disability language(external link).
Disability services framework
In 2011, members of the disability community developed the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) framework to help disabled people, their families, and communities make positive changes. The EGL approach aims to give disabled people and their whānau more control over their lives and the support they receive.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, disabled people, Māori and government agencies are working together to build a disability support system in line with the EGL approach.
We also have a Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights that outlines the rights of people using health and disability services, and the duties of service providers to comply with the Code.
