Guest Editors' Introduction

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Notes

1. For a concise history and typology of the Disability Rights Movement (DRM), both nationally and internationally, see Charlton, 1998.

2. Disability studies is the academic counterpart to the Disability Rights Movement. For a thorough overview, see Linton, 1998.

3. Our use of the phrase “people with disabilities” reflects our 20-year commitment to using “people-first” language that focuses attention on the individual first and then on the disability. However, we are also influenced by disability rights advocates (many whom are themselves disabled) who believe that using the phrase “disabled person” recognizes the fact that disability is often a large aspect of the disabled person's identity, rather than an appendage (Oliver, 1990). We use these phrases interchangeably with the recognition that the language people use to describe themselves and others often changes over time and within sociopolitical contexts.