From the Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald:

Beijing Olympics organizers have apologized for offending disabled people and scrapped a training manual for volunteers which sparked a wave of protest.

The offending guide has been pulled while authorities revise “inappropriate language” applied to the disabled.

“Some mistakes were made in describing people with disabilities,” said a website statement from the organising body BOCOG.

The manual for volunteers said disabled people could be unsocial, stubborn, controlling, defensive and have a strong sense of inferiority. Earlier, the manual had been withdrawn without apology.

Associated Press report in the International Herald Tribune:

Olympic organizers said Thursday that they had withdrawn parts of an English translation of a guide for volunteers because of “inappropriate language” used to describe disabled athletes.

Zhang Qiuping, director of the Paralympic Games in Beijing, did not offer an apology and attributed the problems to poor translation. “Probably it’s cultural difference and mistranslation,” Zhang said.

The Chinese-language version of the text remained online and was nearly identical to the English, using essentially the same stereotypes to refer to the disabled.

The guide described people with disabilities as unsocial, stubborn, controlling, defensive and possessing a strong sense of inferiority. See earlier post: Disabled groups outraged by Beijing snub.

From DiversityInc.com, a publication about diversity in business, a list of seven things you can NEVER say to people with disabilities. (The emphasis is theirs.) Developed with the participation of the National Organization on Disability (NOD) and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, the list is just the right length to be posted on the office bulletin board.

Take note:

1. “What’s wrong/what happened?” or “Were you born that way?”
2. “Oh, if you just have faith, you can be healed.”
3. Speaking slowly or loudly to someone who is in a wheelchair.
4. “I don’t even think of you as a person with a disability.”
5. “How do you go to the bathroom?”
6. “But you look so good.”
7. “Oh, you’re here, you must feel better.”

And that doesn’t even take into account the standard list of culturally insensitive words like “handicapped,” “retarded” and “slow” to refer to people with disabilities, or “compliments” like “you look so good.”

“These terms are unacceptable because they are linked to a history that the general public isn’t aware of,” says Nancy Starnes, vice president and chief of staff for the National Organization on Disability (NOD). “And just like there are terms that you don’t use for African Americans anymore, the same goes for people with disabilities.”

People actually say this stuff? Given that the Census Bureau reports that there are 11.8 million people with reported disabilities in the work force, surely we’ve got a lot of reliable correspondents out there. Readers, what have you heard? Tell us about your most memorable office interaction.

For inspiration, take a look at DiversityInc’s other lists of cringeworthy comments:

• 10 Things NEVER to Say to Black Coworkers: #1: “You’re so articulate.”
• 7 Things NEVER to Say to Asian-American Executives: #1: “You must be the IT person.”
  
• 10 Things NEVER to Say to Latino Executives
  
• 7 Things NEVER to Say to LGBT Coworkers
• 6 Workplace Myths About People With Disabilities

Lucy Hunter’s tall frame is due to a genetic disorder. Yet she refused screening for her sons, who both now have the condition. She explains why she has no regrets

A first-person piece from the [UK] Independent:

… After genetic counseling, I considered the options. Although a prenatal test for Marfan’s exists, the idea of aborting my own child because he is, well, like me, was absolutely abhorrent. I looked into the more palatable idea of having a “designer” embryo implanted using IVF. Then I decided to take my chances on nature.

I have never regretted my decision, despite the guilt when I realised that Rufus, and Oisín, now four, had both been affected.
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From the Daily Utah Chronicle (University of Utah’s independent student publication):

In a recent lecture at the University of Utah, Emory professor Rosemarie Garland-Thompson challenged her audience to decode public images of disability and analyze the cultural messages embedded within them. Her remarks were part of the university’s first annual Disability Studies Forum.

Among the images Garland-Thomson displayed were photographs of conjoined twin slaves, a paraplegic Playboy model, a Barbie doll that uses a wheelchair, and contemporary portraiture. She discussed how different techniques, such as posing in a different way, could give the subject of the portrait dignity, value and recognition.

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From the Boston Globe:

Asians make up 9 percent of students in Boston schools, but only 3 percent of those enrolled in special education, a disparity that has led to fears that many are not getting the help they need.

Even parents with children in special-education programs face cultural and language barriers to getting proper attention for students. Many families are hesitant to ask for help because of a cultural stigma of having children with disabilities. Some are reluctant to challenge school authorities, and others simply don’t know where to turn.

… “Chinese people are a little ashamed to let others know they have a child with special needs at home,” said Zhong Ruan, who reaches out to Chinese families on behalf of the Federation for Children with Special Needs …

From the [UK] Independent, CNN, International Herald Tribune, [UK] Times:

A 77-year-old man was in custody after walking into a hospital and shooting dead his 82-year-old wife, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for 12 years.

Vitangeolo Bini, a retired policeman from Florence, raised no suspicions when he came into the ward. His wife, Mara Bini, had been admitted a few days before; Mr Bini had, for years, borne most of the burden of looking after her.
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