From the Executive Director: Words Still Matter
December 10, 2019 Leave a comment
Before I begin the blog this month, I wanted to remind you all to mark your calendars for Thursday, January 23 during the PGA Merchandise Show. The National Alliance for Accessible Golf will be conducting its third annual education conference on accessibility and inclusion. Beginning at 8:30 a.m. and running until 1:00 p.m., we will have guest speakers but more importantly round-table discussions on the topic of inclusion in the game of golf for individuals with disabilities. It will be held in room W-103 of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Registration is open online at www.accessgolf.org. Sign up today!!
Now on to my comments for December. I am going to retro back a few years to a previous blog. How many times have you heard people refer to an individual with a disability as “a handicapped person”? Or used the “R” word to describe an individual with intellectual disability? Or refer to someone as a “dwarf or midget”? These are some of the descriptions we need to change. Three years after I wrote my blog about this, I still hear people use the wrong and demeaning terminology. A disability description is just a medical diagnosis. In communications with people, we need to focus on the individual first. Use phrases such as a “Person with a disability”, a “Person with intellectual disability”, or a “Person short in stature”. Always put the Person first in your communication. A Person with a disability is a person just like those without disability. They just happen to have a medical diagnosis. Better yet, just refer to them as a Person!!
A final reminder that as we approach the end of the year, we ask that you consider supporting the National Alliance for Accessible Golf in your year-end charitable giving. We thank those who support us annually as we are very reliant on individual donations to promote and advocate for golf to be inclusive, and to provide education/training programs such as on January 23rd. It is easy to make a year-end donation to the National Alliance. Go to www.accessgolf.org and click on the “DONATE” button on the homepage. Thank you in advance for considering the National Alliance for Accessible Golf in your year-end giving.
Look forward to 2020 as we all strive for Inclusion!
Steve Jubb, PGA – Executive Director
About National Alliance for Accessible Golf