NayiDisha Editor, Author at Nayi Disha

Person first language

Posted on August 30, 2022 - 10:29 am by NayiDisha Editor

Let’s talk about person first language

The past couple of decades have seen a shift in how disabilities are talked about. There are now mandated ways by health organisations and even legal organisations and governments where they are phasing out colonial and regressive words like mentally retarded for example. These words are replaced and inclusive language and vocabulary is the way to go when we want to discuss disabilities.

One aspect of this movement to make language more inclusive is person first language. An important point, we wish general public and media know the basis and basics of person first language and how it addresses disabled members of the society.

The idea behind person first language is exactly what it sounds like – to put the person before the condition. To not define a person by their identity. This also means we need to phase out things like “suffering from” and “afflicted with” when we refer to people’s conditions.

Two simple pointers –

– Describe what a person has, and not what a person is

– Phase out regressive words like retarded, crippled, insane and substitute with person with intellectual disability, has a disability and person with mental health condition for instance

The person first language is an act against ableism and in the ways current language and terminologies is insensitive to people with disabilities. But there’s a catch.

When describing people with disabilities, some people prefer an identity-first language instead of a person first language. Especially in the population with Autism, individuals prefer to think of Autism as a different way of seeing the world and not an impediment or disability.

What we need at this point is more sensitivity to deal with the preferences of different communities and tailor our communication accordingly. But if you would like to stick with person first language, here are some helpful phrases to include in your vocabulary –

– People with disabilities

– X has Autism instead of autistic individual

– Children with disabilities

– X has a learning disability

As we all take on more important problems of inclusion and accessibility, the language we use becomes more important. We hope this little primer will help you on your way to a richer, contemporary, sensitive vocabulary.

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other intellectual disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or what’s app us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this article is for information purposes only.

Top 5 Inclusive lifestyle brands

Posted on August 25, 2022 - 5:46 pm by NayiDisha Editor

This article consists of the list of Inclusive lifestyle brands in India.

1. Zyenika, Kolkata

(Image source: The Hindu)

Soumita Basu’s Zyenika is a pioneer in promoting Inclusive Fashion. They design elegant and stylish clothes to cater to all body shapes, sizes, and abilities. While they serve everyone, People with disabilities, chronic illnesses, elderly particularly benefit from it. The designs are adapted to the physical requirements of all to dress with ease, and comfort, painlessly and quickly, with enhanced independence if needed. Their main focus is inclusion and thus they mindfully work and source from marginalized communities, women, and pwds.
Visit https://zyenika.com, @zyenika on Instagram

2. Ekansh Trust, Pune

(Image source: Hindusthan Times)

The founder of the disability welfare NGO Ekansh Trust, Anita Iyer has come up with an initiative toward adaptive clothing. The trust had organized an adaptive clothing design contest ‘Ad-dress’ to welcome new flexible clothing designs. Nearly 15 design teams came forward and Ekansh developed a catalog consisting of 30 clothing designs that are suitable for all irrespective of one’s disability or budget. The designs are customizable and can be changed/altered according to the need of the customer.
Visit @addressnow on Instagram, https://youtu.be/H0vx7sBH0o4?si=iMsAghzfjC-_34L8

3. Move Ability, Kottayam

(Image source: The Hindu)

Joe Ikareth is the founder of Move Ability, a clothing solutions brand in Kottayam, India. It all started with him designing uniforms for his daughter, Tilotama, who has a partially paralyzed right arm. He then moved a bigger spectrum of designing special clothing for people with autism. He experiments with the colors, designs, and fabric, to create clothing that the customer will love wearing. Because everyone has a different degree of autism and each one has unique needs, Ikareth talks to the caregivers and customizes the clothes accordingly.
Visit @moveability_clothing on Instagram

4. 6 Dots

(Image source: The Hindu)

6 Dots, founded by Parul Sachdeva, a designer from Delhi, is an adaptive fashion line for blind and visually impaired women. The garments are generally made using textured fabric and have Braille tags attached to them. The embroidery provides surface texture which makes it easy for the visually impaired to understand what they are wearing.
According to Parul, “It’s all about giving someone dignity, confidence, and choice.”.

5. Aaraam Se, Kochi

(Image source: The Hindu)

Aaraam Se is an inclusive lifestyle brand, founded by Ashima Bhan, for the differently-abled, people with prosthetics, and the elderly, who may find movement difficult. The clothes has zippers, Velcro, and elastic instead of buttons, button holes, or tie-ups. There are a range of clothes they have- from shirts to kurtas to stiched sarees, etc.

Visit @aaraamse.in on Instagram

Check out the articles on 5 top Indian restaurants/cafés that employ People with Disabilities(PwDs)

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other intellectual disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or what’s app us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this article is for information purposes only.