Definitions Related to Disability Justice and Sexual Wellness

Definitions provided below are a very abridged collections of words which may be commonly misunderstood but often used among self-advocates and those in disability justice and violence prevention movements.  Please feel free to email us if you feel a definition should be changed or if you would like to see other words and definitions added: indisabilityjustice@gmail.com.

Able-Bodied: Generally refers to someone without a disability.  Some people prefer to use the phrase “non-disabled”.

Accessible: Describes a space, event, or effort in which people have ensured that people with disabilities can participate in the ways they prefer.

Access Barrier: Any physical structure or method of action that prevents people with disabilities from participating in the way they prefer.

Accommodation: Any change made to a space or event originally designed for non-disabled people so that people with disabilities may also participate.

Adaptive Technology: Any technology that has been altered to increase accessibility for people with disabilities.  Example: A “refreshable braille display” keyboard that allows Blind and low-vision individuals to type and read computer screens.

Assistive Technology: Any technology created specifically to support and enhance the quality of life and social engagement of a person with a disability.  Examples include: wheelchairs, text to speech devices, or compression clothing that improves circulation.

Captioning: Text added to a video to make auditory speech accessible in visible form or more clearly understood by being read aloud by a screen reader.  Captions are usually displayed at the bottom of a video in alignment with the sounds in the video 

Caregiver: Any person who provides necessary support to another person so that they may live as independently as possible.  Caregivers may be paid staff, unpaid volunteers, professionals with training, family members or friends, etc.  They may provide assistance meeting basic needs like preparing food or providing transportation.  They may also provide support with tasks such as finding a lawyer or completing paperwork.

CART Services: “Communication Access Realtime Translation” services is a service in which a person types auditory communication onto a screen as readable text during an event as the event takes place.  CART services ensure that events are accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing folks as well as some folks with auditory processing differences.

Cognitive, Intellectual, and Developmental Disabilities (IDD): Includes any disabilities that impact whole-body development, learning, mental processing of information, and behavior.  Examples of cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities include: autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and many others.  Although “intellectual and developmental disability” (IDD) is commonly used among professionals and some self-advocates, some self-advocates encourage people to use the phrase “cognitive and developmental disabilities” to push against the idea that intellectual capacity can be easily measured in a singular, comprehensive way.

Community Mobilization: Any action(s) coordinated across a group or community to encourage group action to improve the safety, wellness, and/or situation of a group.  For example, ADAPT is an organization that often mobilizes people with disabilities to advocate for laws, policies, and practices that enhance wellness among people with disabilities.

Community Organizing: The process of making community mobilization focused and effective.  Community organizing often involves 1. helping the group identify and communicate their needs and desires, 2. helping people identify their strengths so they can support the group using those strengths, 3. reducing areas of weakness in the group effort by utilizing group strengths, and 4. ensuring the efforts are evaluated so they can be improved.

Consumer: A shorthand version of “consumer of services” often used in disability services agencies to refer to people with disabilities utilizing services.  This language was created by self-advocates to ensure that disability services professionals prioritized their services “consumers”.

Chronic Illness: Any long-term health problem that diminishes the wellbeing of a person.  Typically chronic illness is caused by a bacteria, virus, or parasite (in other words an infection), but some chronic illness can also be genetic in origin.  Infections that cause chronic illness include chronic lyme disease (bacteria), HIV (virus), or Giardia (a parasitic STI).  An example of a genetic-based chronic illness could include cystic fibrosis whereby the genetic variations also lead the individual to be at greater risk for various infections.  Many chronic illnesses do not have a “cure” and must be managed or the individual seeks to enter remission as much of the time as possible.

Dating: The process of getting to know a prospective intimate partner and define the relationship between the partners.  Dating often involves getting to know each other, to engage in a sexual relationship, or both.  Usually after people date for some period of time, they may decide to continue an open or exclusive longer-term relationship (with or without a sexual component), break up and pursue other relationships, or engage in a sexual relationship without a romantic relationship.

Direct Service Provider (DSP): Refers to paid professionals who offer needed services for people with disabilities, including housing, food, hygiene, transportation, paperwork filing, advocacy, and/or other services.

Disability: Any characteristic about a person that impacts the way they move through the world (physical movement, thought process, perception, health, behavior, etc) that is systemically repressed, such as in medical, legal, employment, social, and other sectors of life.

Ethnic Identity: A social identity that links to distinct cultural group with connected cultural and linguistic characteristics, and often a shared history and/or a region of origin or living.

Gender Identity: The way someone perceives themselves in the context of their body and societal norms about their body and gender roles.

Genitals: Organs located between the legs and near the base of the torso, often used for sexual pleasure and/or for reproduction.  Genitals may include: vulva, labia, scrotum, testes/balls, clitoris, penis, vagina, and/or prostate.  Most people have some genitals and not all of them.  Which genitals a person has is often determined by genetics, in utero hormones, hormone sensitivity, and, later in life, choice.  During adolescence and adulthood, some individuals may choose to undergo medical procedures to change their genitals.

Harassment: Any unwanted non-physical interaction with another person in which the boundaries of a person are ignored or violated.

Healing-Centered Care: Trauma-informed health care or services that focus on trauma healing.

Health Care Practitioner: Any certified professional who supports the health of clients, including doctors, nurses, alternative medicine professionals, therapists, social workers, and sometimes direct service providers.

Healthy Relationships: Relationships in which all those involved in the relationship feel safe, cared-for, and their boundaries are respected.

Healthy Sexuality: The experience someone has when they are familiar with their own body, know their sexual desires and boundaries, know how to practice safer sex, and feel comfortable discussing sexual desires, boundaries, and safety with their partner(s).

Interpreter: Any person who translates from one language to another.  In most settings, interpreters are paid professionals who undergo rigorous qualifications to become an interpreter.  In certain urgent situations, an interpreter might simply be a multi-lingual person who can temporarily fulfill basic interpretation needs until a professional can be involved.

Intimate Partnerships or Intimate Relationships: Any relationship in which those involved in the relationship have mutually chosen to have a deep, personal, romantic and/or sexual bond with each other.

Legal Guardianship: A legal process by which someone, usually a parent, may take legal authority over a person with a disability (or someone deemed unable to make their own decisions).  Legal guardianship may result in specific, partial, or full legal decision-making power for the legal guardian.  Advocates encourage potential guardians to choose the least restrictive guardianship option, such as informal or formal supported decision-making before moving to acquire full legal guardianship.  Full legal guardianship is sometimes referred to as “substituted decision-making”.

Neurodivergence: Any disability that impacts the structure and/or function of the brain and central nervous system.  Neurodivergent people may include those with developmental disabilities like autism as well as mentally ill people such as those with boderline personality disorder, schitzophrenia, etc.  Those who are not neurodivergent are referred to as “neurotypical”.

Mainstreaming: Refers to the process of involving people of all abilities in all aspects of life together with necessary supports in place based on individual needs.  Mainstreaming differs from ability-segregated environments.  For example, many people with disabilities advocate for an end to “special education” in favor of “mainstreaming” children with disabilities into classrooms that are integrated across abilities.

Medicaid: According to medicaid.gov, “Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. Medicaid is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government.”  Medicaid is a health insurance program for those living at a very low income.

Medicare: According to medicare.gov, “Medicare is the federal health insurance program for: People who are 65 or older,  Certain younger people with disabilities, People with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ESRD)”  Medicare providers health insurance for qualified people regardless of their income.

Mental Illness: Any mental condition that impacts a person’s overall wellbeing and typically changes the way that person perceives and/or processes themselves and the world around them.  Some people prefer to include mental illness as a form of neurodivergence.  Examples of mental illness could include mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder as well as attachment and personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder, among others.

Personal Empowerment: A feeling someone might have when they have the knowledge, support, and confidence to advocate for themselves and/or others.

Physical Disability: Any disability that impacts how someone physically moves through the world.  Examples could include developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy, genetic disabilities like cystic fibrosis, and/or traumatic injuries like a disability resulting from a car crash.  Some physical disabilities are mobility disabilities, but not all.

Puberty: A process during which a person’s reproductive hormones (usually testosterone or estrogen and progesterone) increase significantly in the body, resulting in physical changes.  Some of these physical changes include changes to the shape and size of the genitals, hair growth, cartilage expansion and bone growth, among others.  Most people experience the most dramatic hormone changes between the ages of 10 and 21.  Some people may experience multiple puberties if they are intersex or transgender and elect to go through additional hormone therapy.

Racial Identity: This describes what race or races someone identifies with based on their own heritage, living region, culture, and society.  Race is a socially defined category, not a biological one.  Therefore, many regions of the world may define racial identities quite differently.  Usually these differences in identification are also based upon structural differences in power that are rooted in the history of each region.  In the U.S., some of the most common racial identities include: Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, white, biracial or multiracial.

Reproductive Health: Sometimes referred to as “Sexual Health”.  Any aspect of wellness related to the reproductive or sexual organs of a person.  This may include physical wellness, emotional wellness, and access to adequate health care, sexual health education, sexual pleasure, and family planning resources.  Note that some people dislike the phrase “reproductive” health as it implies that sexual organs exist simply for reproduction.  Others dislike the phrase “sexual” health as it implies that those body parts will be used for sex (which may not be the case for many asexual people).  Additionally, in some modest communities, there may be social taboo around saying the word “sex” and having to create an appointment at a clinic for “sexual health” may deter people from seeking appropriate health care.

Safer Sex: Any sexual experience that is done with consent from all those involved and where each individual has had a chance to make a informed choices about pregnancy prevention and prevention of sexually transmitted infection (STI).  All sexual activity has some risk for pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection, but practicing safer sex means everyone gets to choose exactly how much and what kinds of risks they are comfortable with.

Sign Language: According to the National Association of the Deaf: Sign Language “is a visual language. With signing, the brain processes linguistic information through the eyes. The shape, placement, and movement of the hands, as well as facial expressions and body movements, all play important parts in conveying information.  Sign language is not a universal language — each country has its own sign language, and regions have dialects, much like the many languages spoken all over the world.”  Additionally, American Sign Language (ASL) “is used predominantly in the United States and in many parts of Canada.”

Service Provider: Any qualified professional who facilitates the process of distributing social, medical, or legal services to those who need the services.  Service providers often help complete paperwork, work with clients to identity each client’s specific needs and wants, and strive to ensure that clients seeking services receive the services they request.

Sexual Health: Refer to “Reproductive Care”.

Sexual Identity: Refers to the ways in which a person might perceive themselves sexually.  For example, someone might call themselves “gay” as a sexual identity if they primarily have intimate relationships with those of the same gender.  Someone else might consider themselves heterosexual if they primarily have intimate relationships if they have relationships with a person of a different gender if one person is a woman and one person is a man.  Additionally, some people may also specify their sexual identities as it relates to sexual kinks or fetishes.  For example, someone might consider themselves part of the Leather Community if they have a leather fetish.

Sexual Violence: Any kind of harm that someone may experience that is sexual in nature or that impacts their sexuality.  Sexual violence could include:

• having your body commented on in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable
• unwanted touching
• being taught inaccurate information about the body or about sexual practices
• being taught that the body or sex are “bad” or “gross” or any other negative qualities
• being tricked, coerced, or forced into a sexual experience with someone
• being tricked, coerced, or forced to become pregnant or getting a sexually transmitted infection without your agreement
• or any other experience which teaches someone to think or feel badly about their body or about sex and sexuality

Sexual Wellness: Any practice that supports health and comfort someone has with their body, sex, or sexual practices.  Sexual wellness might be supported by: access to sexual health care and family planning services, comprehensive education about safer sex and healthy relationships, and opportunities for someone to ask questions about their body or sexuality.

Support Person: Any person who helps another person reach their goals.  Sometimes a Support Person might be formally identified in a Supported Decision-Making contract, especially for people with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.  Other times, a Support Person may be more informal.  A Support Person might be a paid professional, family member, friend, and/or volunteer.

Supported Decision-Making: A process for making decisions with support people offering assistance as needed to the person who will be most impacted by the decision.  Supported Decision-Making may be a formal legal document, a document drawn up outside of court with the person who is making decisions and their Support Persons, or an informal agreement that is not written down.  Support Decision-Making is often a preferred, less restrictive form of decision-making for people with disabilities, especially cognitive, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities compared to Legal Guardianship, also known as Substituted Decision Making.  Find out more information about SDM through Indiana Disability Rights.

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD), Teletypewriter (TTY), and Text Telephone (TT): Each of these adaptive technologies allows Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to communicate over phones using visual texting.  This technology may also be used by hearing non-verbal and less verbal people.  For example, some autistic people are hearing, but do not communicate verbally.

Trauma: Any experience that is so overwhelming for the body that the body is unable to fully process the experience.  This results in stress becoming physically trapped in the nervous system and often resulting in symptoms such as fatigue, hyper-vigilance, fear, phobias, exaggerated startle response, difficulty sleeping, disrupted eating, difficulty trusting people or trusting everyone indiscriminately, and/or substance abuse, among others.  These responses to unprocessed trauma are often referred to as “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD).  Some common examples of trauma might include: car wrecks, medical procedures involving anesthesia, unwanted touching, and many others. 

Trauma Healing: The process by which a traumatic experience is processed and the person who experienced the trauma is able to release the stress that got trapped in the nervous system. This typically results in a significant decrease or complete end to the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  The most effective trauma-healing techniques usually combine physical work with mental health work.  Trauma healing is often facilitated by a social worker or therapist in collaboration with the person who experienced the traumatic event(s).

Trauma-Informed Care: Any form of health care or service provision where the professional has a deep understanding of the impacts of trauma on the lives of survivors.  A trauma-informed professional will be able to make changes to a person’s health care plan or service delivery plan in collaboration with the client to ensure that their is an additional focus on trauma-healing and avoiding trauma triggers.

Trauma Triggers: Refers to any event or sensation that releases stress that is stuck in the body of a survivor after a traumatic event in a way that is potentially harmful to the survivor.

Universal Design: According to the National Disability Authority, “Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. An environment (or any building, product, or service in that environment) should be designed to meet the needs of all people who wish to use it. This is not a special requirement, for the benefit of only a minority of the population. It is a fundamental condition of good design. If an environment is accessible, usable, convenient and a pleasure to use, everyone benefits. By considering the diverse needs and abilities of all throughout the design process, universal design creates products, services and environments that meet peoples’ needs. Simply put, universal design is good design.”  The concept of Universal Design has been expanded by some communities to refer to designing spaces, events, and services in such a way that those who have the least access are given the most consideration.  This often results in organizing spaces, events, and services to be accessible to the greatest variety of people and backgrounds.