Originally posted by Uncle Dick
Maybe, but what I find interesting is the way guests with disabilities refer to themselves. Not once have I heard a guest with disabilities refer to themselves as such; it's always "Where does handicapped go?" or "Where's the entrance for wheelchairs?"



I have stayed quiet on this round of this ever-ongoing discussion until now....

I am not quite sure how to put all of this into words but:

It really doesn't matter how the disabled person views him/herself. It really doesn't matter what the disabled person calls him/herself. Whether the person refers to oneself as a handicapped or a disabled or whether the person uses the phrase "where's the entrance for wheelchairs?".

People in general, especially people in the customer service jobs should be able to refer to the person as an regular individual and not a "disabled" or "wheelchair". I have dealt with the issue both with elderly relatives as well as a friends and myself recently since I developed a back disability. Hearing the term "wheelchair" being used to describe the person is cold and insensitive.

I always thought I could just ignore the phrase "wheelchair". Recently, I heard a CM use the phrase describing myself while waiting for entrance into an attraction and regardless of what the CM meant by it, I heard it and it did irritate me.