Resource Center · Understanding disability
Understanding disability, access and advocacy.
A plain-language introduction to ideas that shape how we talk about disability, drawn from sources led by disabled people and from the organizations that publish language guidance. This page is educational. It is not a school policy and it is not political advocacy.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Disability identity
Disability is part of human diversity. Many disabled people describe disability as part of who they are, not a problem to be fixed. Identity is personal: some people say “disabled person”, some say “person with a disability”, and the person’s own choice comes first.
Ableism
Ableism is the assumption that some bodies and minds are “normal” and others are worth less. It shows up as low expectations, inaccessible buildings and websites, being talked over or talked about, and decisions made without the person. Naming it helps us notice it and change it.
Accessibility and accommodation
Accessibility is designed in from the start so everyone can take part. An accommodation is a change made for one person after the fact. Both matter. The more accessible the design, the fewer accommodations anyone has to ask for.
Disability rights
In the United States, laws such as the ADA, IDEA and Section 504 protect access to education, public places, employment and services. Rights are strongest when people know them. The Know Your Rights cards on the Resource Center link to official New Jersey guidance.
Disability justice
A framework developed by disabled artists and activists that asks who is still left out even when rights exist on paper. Its principles include wholeness, interdependence, collective access and cross-disability solidarity, and it insists that disabled people are complete human beings.
Neurodiversity
The natural variety in how human brains work, including autism, ADHD and other differences. Seen this way, a different way of thinking or communicating is part of human diversity, not a defect to be corrected.
Self-determination and self-advocacy
Self-determination is having control over your own life: goals, choices, supports. Self-advocacy is communicating those choices, needs and rights, in any form of communication. Neither requires spoken words.
Interdependence
Everyone depends on other people. Interdependence says that needing support is not the opposite of independence; it is how communities work. Choosing your supports, and who provides them, is itself a form of independence.
Presuming competence
Presuming competence means assuming a person can understand, learn and communicate, and then providing the access they need to show it. When we are not sure, we presume competence, because underestimating a person costs far more than offering more.
Communication rights
Every person has the right to communicate and to be understood, in the way that works for them. That includes access to AAC, time to respond and partners who listen. CommunicationFIRST works on exactly this.
Autonomy, choice and dignity of risk
Autonomy is making your own decisions. Dignity of risk is the right to take reasonable risks and make mistakes, because protecting someone from every risk also takes away growth and choice. Support should widen choices, not replace them.
Social and medical models
The medical model sees disability as a problem inside a person to be fixed. The social model sees disability as created largely by barriers in the environment and in attitudes. The social model is why we talk about access, and why changing the environment is usually the first move.
Learn from disability-led sources
ASAN Resource Library
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s library of plain-language and Easy Read resources on self-advocacy, autism acceptance, community living, transition and rights. Written by disabled people.
Students can read many of these themselves.
Best for: Students, Families, Staff
Topics: Self-advocacy, plain language, rights
Sins Invalid: 10 Principles of Disability Justice
A short, foundational statement from a disability-led arts and justice organization. Its principles include wholeness, interdependence, collective access and cross-disability solidarity.
It says plainly that disabled people are complete human beings, which is where good practice starts.
Best for: Students, Families, Staff
Topics: Disability justice, interdependence
AHM note: shared as education, not as political advocacy.
CommunicationFIRST
A disability-led organization that advances the communication rights, autonomy and dignity of people who cannot rely on speech to be understood, including people who use AAC.
It gives families and students language for a simple truth: AAC is communication, and being understood is a right.
Best for: Families, Students, Staff
Topics: Communication rights, AAC, autonomy
AHM note: it fits AHM’s belief that every voice matters.
Words matter
Words matter: talking about disability respectfully.
This is language guidance from the American Psychological Association and the National Institutes of Health, not a school rule. Person-first language (“a student with a disability”) and identity-first language (“a disabled student”) are both used and respected. The person’s own preference comes first, and preferences differ for real reasons: identity, culture, community and experience. When you do not know, ask.
Worth reconsidering
“Wheelchair-bound” or “confined to a wheelchair”: a wheelchair gives freedom, it does not confine. Say “uses a wheelchair.”
“Suffers from”: it assumes suffering. Say “has” or “lives with,” or simply name the disability.
“Normal children”: it makes disabled children the exception. Say “children without disabilities,” or just “children.”
“High-functioning” or “low-functioning”: these labels hide what a person can actually do. Describe the specific skill or the specific support instead.
“Special needs”: often vague. When you can, name the actual need: a ramp, a communication device, more time.
Correct gently. Most people who use these words mean well, and a short, respectful explanation changes more than a scolding. No family should feel shamed for the words they grew up with.
Why preferences differ
Some communities, including many autistic and Deaf people, prefer identity-first language because disability is part of identity and culture. Others prefer person-first language because it was hard-won. Both are respectful when they follow the person’s choice. A student who cannot yet tell you should be described with dignity in either form, and with the language their family uses.
At AHM, AAC is communication, and how a student communicates is never described as a deficit.
APA: Choosing words for talking about disability
The American Psychological Association’s guidance on person-first and identity-first language and on words worth reconsidering.
A neutral reference when a family or colleague asks which words to use.
Best for: Staff, Families
Topics: Disability language
NIH: Person-first and destigmatizing language
The National Institutes of Health style guide entry on respectful, non-stigmatizing language about disability and health.
Short, official and easy to share.
Best for: Staff, Families
Topics: Disability language
Outside resources are provided for informational purposes and do not constitute an endorsement by A. Harry Moore Laboratory School or Kean University. Programs, services, eligibility requirements, funding and availability may change. Families should contact each organization directly and work with their school team or appropriate service coordinator when applicable.
Last reviewed: September 2026