National Resource Center for Reaching Victims Logo
Anti-Ableist Glossary of Disability Terms 
By: Sara M. Acevedo, PhD. 

Project Synopsis 

This project originated in the United States as a joint effort 
between the Vera Institute of Justice, the National Resource 
Center (NRC) and other allied organizations and their partner 
community of translators1. In response to the needs and priorities 
identified by the communities themselves, the partner 
organizations adopted a comprehensive action strategy focused 
on the joint development of initiatives seeking equality and 
justice for families and whole communities impacted by violence. 
These initiatives involve elements of research, recommendations 
on policy and direct action in order to help strengthen the 
affected groups which, owing to their social, economic, political, 
ethnic and cultural circumstances, find themselves in a situation 
of extreme vulnerability. 



In summary, the primary and overall aim of this project is to 
guarantee equality, sustainability and quality in these alliances by 
strengthening the communicative ties between service provider 
organizations and the disabled persons they support. 




Table of Contents 
Project Synopsis ................................................................ 1 
Outline of the Glossary ...................................................... 5 
Political and Cultural Framework ....................................... 5 
Scope and Approach .......................................................... 6 
1. Aceptación (English: acceptance): ............................... 8 
2. Autodeterminación (English: self-determination): ....... 9 
3.Ayudas y Servicios Auxiliares (English: auxiliary aids): 
...................................................................................... 10 
4. Capacitismo (English: Ableism): ................................ 11 
5. Ceguera (English: Blindness): .................................... 12 
6.Centro de Vida Independiente (English: IndependentLiving Center) ................................................................ 13 
7.Comunicación Aumentativa y Alternativa (English:
Augmentative and Alternative Communication): ........... 14 
8. Daltonismo (English: Color Blindness): ...................... 15 
9. Demencia (English Dementia): .................................. 16 
10.Discapacidad Intelectual (English: IntellectualDisability): ..................................................................... 17 
11.Discapacidad de Desarrollo (English: DevelopmentalDisability) ...................................................................... 18 
12. Dislexia (English: Dyslexia): .................................... 19 
13.Directrices Sobre Interacciones y Lenguaje (English:
Disability Etiquette): ...................................................... 19 
14. Interdependencia (English: Interdependence): ....... 22 
15.Justicia por la Discapacidad (English: DisabilityJustice): ......................................................................... 22 
16. Lector de Pantalla (English: Screen reader) ............. 23 
17.Lesión Cerebral Traumática (LCT) (English: TraumaticBrain Injury (TBI)): ....................................................... 24 
18.Movimiento de Derechos de los Discapacitados(English: Disability Rights Movement) ........................... 25 
19. Disability Models: ..................................................... 26 
Charity Disability Model................................................... 26 
Modelo Religioso o Moral de la Discapacidad (English: 
Religious/Moral Model of Disability): ................................. 27 
Modelo Biomédico de la Discapacidad (English: Biomedical 
Model of Disability): ....................................................... 28 
Modelo Social de la Discapacidad (English: Social Model of 
Disability): .................................................................... 29 
Modelo Cultural de la Discapacidad (English: Cultural Model of 
Disability): .................................................................... 30 
20. Nada Sobre Nosotros Sin Nosotros (English: Nothing 
About Us Without Us): ................................................... 30 
21. Neurodiversidad (English: Neurodiversity): ............. 31 
References ..................................................................... 32 
Castro-Girona Martinez, J.L. (2018). El Artículo 12 de la 
convención de los derechos de las personas con 
discapacidad. Madrid: Editorial Universitaria Ramón 
Areces. ............................................................................. 33 
Torres Jiménez, R.M. (1991). Reflexiones sobre 
religiosidad popular, el concepto de caridad en la 
espiritualidad laica, del amor a Dios al amor a los pobres, 
del mundo rural al humanismo. Cuadernos de estudios 
manchegos, 36, 154-184. .............................................. 37 
Outline of the Glossary 

The purposes of this glossary are as follows: 

•Provide a practical instrument that will guarantee the qualityof the services provided and satisfy the needs of Spanish-
speaking disabled persons who have survived various typesof violence.
•Develop a language guide that primarily serves as a tool toraise social awareness regarding systematic discriminationagainst disabled persons and their related identities.
•Transform ableist beliefs and attitudes (and their links toother forms of discrimination), which are reflected in thecommon use of language and everyday communicativesituations.






Political and Cultural Framework 
The thematic content of this glossary is inspired by the practical 
framework for Disability Justice, whose principals are rooted in a 
comprehensive understanding of the processes of systemic 
oppression, capitalist development and the intrinsic links between 
ableism, racism, classism, sexism, speciesism, homophobia, 
transphobia, Islamophobia, fatphobia, and anti-immigrant 
sentiment, along with all other forms of material and cultural 
discrimination and alienation (see glossary p. 4). 




It is important to note that, despite the fact that social 
transformation requires an active and constant focus on the 
processes of systemic discrimination, the Disability Justice 
movement emphasizes the importance of the historical and 
contemporary processes of political survival and resistance. Some 
of the pillars of this movement are transversal organization and 
collaboration with other social movements and the praxis of 
interdependence (see glossary p. 4), access as a form of 
collective liberation and art as an aesthetic, political and 
pedagogical tool (Patty Berne, 2015, 2017). The leading project 
in this area is the theater company Sins Invalid. This company is 
made up of a group of people who are disabled, of color, gay and 
do not identify with their birth gender, all of whom understand 
and live with disability as a multidimensional experience: 1

1 See Skin, Tooth, and Bone The Basis of Movement is Our People: A 
Disability Justice Primer (Sins Invalid, 2017). For more information visit this 
link: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/reward/OTMxNQ 

• As an important part of their bodily and material existence 


• As a social construct 


• As an alternative, creative and adaptive way of life 


• As a political and cultural identity within a social context that 
is hostile to bodymind differences. 




Scope and Approach 


Given that the sponsor organizations for this project work within 
a United States framework, and that their aim is to serve local 
Spanish-speaking consumers, this glossary reflects linguistic, 
political and cultural positions that are especially pertinent in that 
context. This means that, although they are translated by a 
person whose native language is Spanish, many of the terms 
included here have local meanings and nuances that don’t always 
make sense beyond this context. 

 

Another element to take into account is that this project is 
authored from a subjective point of view that reflects the 
linguistic-cultural perspective of the writer, her intellectual 
formation, professional environment and political orientation with 
regard to disability.2 That being said, it is necessary to clarify the 
distinctions and variations in the terminology describing disability 
in the United States and Spanish-speaking countries on the 
continent of America, not just in terms of semantics, but history, 
culture and politics. For this reason, without a rigorous approach 
to their use in Latin America, it would be inaccurate and 
ahistorical to apply the label of ableist to terminology that follows 

2 In this glossary, in accordance with her intellectual formation and 
sociocultural and political formation regarding disability, the translator uses 
the language of identity first - disabled person - except in certain cases (see 
glossary p. 12). There are different uses, among them the terms relating to 
the person, firstly, and its variants: Disabled person, person in a situation of 
disability, person with functional diversity. 
different norms than experts in the subject from the United 
States. 


Although an exhaustive analysis of these linguistic variations and 
distinctions is beyond the scope of this project, it is important to 
clarify this in order to avoid contributing, even if in a minor way, 
to the reproduction of linguistic neocolonialism and the imposition 
of terms that do not agree with the historical development, 
cultural context and daily lives of Latin American societies. 

 

In summary, the approach and scope of this project encourages 
the consideration of language as a practical instrument and a 
communicative tool, among many other reflections, without 
forgetting its role as a sociocultural institution that is framed by 
state policy, hegemonic structures and the shaping of values 
having to do with the identity in each nation. Notwithstanding the 
weight of these ideological and epistemological fundamentals, 
language is also deployed as a political weapon and one of 
political liberation from authoritarian imposition. 

 

1. Aceptación (English: acceptance): 

An active concept describing the decision of a person or a social 
collective to approve and acknowledge the value of a fact, action, 
thought, identity, state of being or circumstance, either in the 
past or the present. With regard to disabled persons, acceptance 


Acevedo9

carries with it the recognition of theintrinsic natureof their valueas human beings and the full affirmationof theircivil rights andas citizens. These include the right tolive a lifeof dignity, free of 
discrimination,exclusion, rejection andviolence, with access to 
all thematerial andinterpersonal elements that aid,support andsustain their satisfactoryparticipation in the community.

Example: 

•The United States, Canada and some European countrieshavenamed April as Autism Awareness Month. For themajorityof autistic communities, the concept of acceptancemeans something different than awareness.While theawareness-raising campaigns areled mostlyby health 
professionals who believe thatautismis a developmentaldisorder that needs to be cured, acceptancecampaigns areledbyactivists who areactuallyautistic.Theseactivists takeelements from the social andcultural model to promote thevalueofself-determination,self-management, bodymindautonomy andthe richness oftheautistic culture (ASAN, 
2012).
2.Autodeterminación (English: self-
determination):
The active process whereby people establish their right to 

act as autonomous agents andto make decisions for 


Acevedo10

themselves regarding all aspects of their lives. In manysocieties, disabled people suffer the effects ofoppressiveideologies thatassumetheir inherentinferiorityandencourage the practices that affirm this.Among these arethose practicesthat arebasedon a paradigm that assumes 
deficiency, childishness, aninability to make decisionsandabsenceofautonomyregardingtheir body-mind, alongwith 
a legalincapacity to exercise their rights as citizens. In thehistorical andgeographicalcontext of the UnitedStates,
Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, for example, 
disabled activists and their political sympathizers havestruggled against the domination of ableist societies andestablished therights to autonomy andself-determination 
byappealingto thelaw,holdingpeacefuldemonstrations,
student protests, directaction and blockades,sit-ins in 
government offices, education, art andso on.

3.Ayudas y Servicios Auxiliares (English: auxiliaryaids):
According to the1990Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
the blind, deafandpersons with other communicationdisabilities are fully entitled to receive enhancements to 
improve the effectiveness of their interaction,with other 
people that arewith or withoutdisabilities andwith their 
environment, as well as fair access to active, satisfactory


Acevedo11

participation in allspheres of everydaylife. In order to 
ensurecompliance with theselegalprovisions regardingaccess,thelawrequires that state institutions and bodies 
and establishments andsites designed for useby the public 
as educationalandrecreational centers or for rentalor asserviceproviders possess the technologyandother adaptiveresources necessary to ensure that people with 
communication disabilities obtain maximum enjoyment fromtheir activities. These auxiliary aids andservices includesign 
language interpreters, real-time transcription services, audio 
recordings,braille materials andscreens, secondaudio 
programs, open captioning andsubtitles.

4.Capacitismo (English: Ableism):
A series ofideologies, systems, institutionsand economic andsocioculturalpractices whose oppressive natureis basedon thearbitrary belief that disabled bodies are essentially inferior to 
those consideredto be“normal”.
Usesineverydaylanguage: 

a.Ableismis both an ideology and a dominant practicein 
Anglo-American andEuropean societies.
b.This writer’s observations arebasedon ableistideologies.

5. Ceguera (English: Blindness): 

A physical and sensory condition referring to the lack or lessening 
of sight. 

 2.1 Ciego (English: Blind) 

 Ciego: Spanish for a blind man 

 Ciega: Spanish for a blind woman 

 Ciegue: 3 Neutral term for a blind person 

3 Some Spanish-speaking countries have begun to adopt the use of the 
vowel “e” to create a neutral linguistic gender in order to highlight and 
transform the primacy of the binary social construction of gender that 
excludes gay and non-gender-conforming people. For more information, go 
to these links: http://agenciapresentes.org/2018/09/18/a-quien-incluye-el-
lenguaje-inclusivo/ https://www.change.org/p/real-academia-
espa%C3%B1ola-crear-un-pronombre-adecuado-para-el-g%C3%A9nero-
neutro-en-espa%C3%B1ol-2 

 

Uses: 

• Blindness is one of the physical-sensory conditions that 
commonly figures in classic works of literature. For example, 
the story of Lazarillo de Tormes, which inspired an entire 
literary genre in the sixteenth century. 


• On of the most common beliefs, in different social 
contexts, is that the blind need constant, 
overprotective help. Those who know the subject, 
especially the blind or visually impaired, argue the 
opposite and demonstrate this in their daily lives. 





Acevedo13

•Centro de Vida Independiente (English: IndependentLiving Center) 
6.Centro de Vida Independiente (English: 
Independent Living Center)
A not-for-profitcommunityorganization createdbyandfor 
disabled persons. In the United States, these centers operate on 
a nationallevel,providing informational and educationalservices 
regarding the mostbasic aspects of everydaylife, such as 
equalityofrights, the legalprotectionsspecifiedintheADA, 
adjustments designed for access to education,health, housing,
employment and transport, as well as practical knowledge of thediverseset of assets,instruments, tools and technologies thatfacilitate full participation in thecommunities they belongto andin society in general. In addition, the centers also offer 
opportunities for collective organization, joint self-representation, 

mutualsupport and activism.4

4The story of theIndependent Living Movement began in the United Statesin the 1960s. Ed Roberts, a disabledstudent at Berkeley,California at the 
time, is recognized as the Father of theIndependent Living Movement.
Before entering college, Ed had a confrontationwith the Berkeleyboard of 
directors,which had refused to admit him on the grounds that his respirator(“iron lung”) was too big for the university dorms. Ed and a group ofotherdisabledstudents mobilized to fight against the architectural and social 
barriers preventing them from exercising theirright to an education and 
participation in thecommunity. From this, and many other formsof jointorganization, came the Independent Living Centerin 1972. For more


information, visit this link : 
https://www.independentliving.org/docs6/alonso2003.pdf 

5 For more information, visit this link: 
http://www.ceapat.es/InterPresent2/groups/imserso/documents/binario/comunicacinaumentativayalterna.pdf 

 

7. Comunicación Aumentativa y Alternativa 
(English: Augmentative and Alternative 
Communication): 

A set of support devices, systems and technologies designed 
to facilitate quality of access and full, satisfactory 
communication exchanges between persons with different 
communicative capacities and their family, community, 
educational or personal-relationship environments. The word 
“augmentative” here refers to support systems that 
complement spoken language, while the word “alternative” 
applies to the support systems that substitute spoken 
language. 5 

 

Examples: 

• Manual or electronic boards with graphic or electronic 
symbols such as photos, letters, drawings and gestures 
that include body language and signing. 
• Electronic devices with integrated voice assistant 
applications. Depending on the adaptive needs of the 
user, this support technology offers different access 



Acevedo15

options,such as touch screens,eye-trackingscreens 
andswitches activated by moving different parts ofthebody, such as the knee, head, etc.,thus helpingtheuser to move through the contents on thescreen. 

Uses:

•Access to alternative and augmentative devicesenhances thequalityoflife of people with communication 
disabilities.
8.Daltonismo (English: Color Blindness):
A genetic and congenitaldisorder also widelyknown as 
dyschromatopsia. There are some types ofdyschromatopsiathat are not genetic which result from lesions to the eye. 
Color blindness involves various levels ofdifficulty inperceivingor distinguishing colors; according to experts in 
the subject there at least four types:6

•Achromatic: someonewho is only ableto recognizeblack, white and gray tones.
•Monochromatic:someone who is onlyable to recognizeonecolor.
6To learn more, visit this link: https://latam.historyplay.tv/hoy-en-la-
historia/fue-descubierto-el-daltonismo


Acevedo16

•Dichromatic: someonewho has difficulty distinguishingbetween the colorsred and green or blue and yellow; aless common problem.
•Trichromatic: someonewho confuses some colors with 
others.
Uses:

•Color blindness is hereditary
9.Demencia (EnglishDementia):
A general term that embraces aset of mental disabilities 
commonlyrelated to ageing. Dementiainvolves thealteration and the deterioration of somecognitive functions,
such as memory, language and communication, the capacityto make decisions andorientation. Dementia does notalwaysoccurduringlater life and there are various types: 

•Alzheimer’s: a commontype ofprogressive dementiathat affects firstthe memory and orientation and then 
other cognitive functions such as communication andlanguage.
•Vasculardementia:occurs after oneor severalcardiovascular events;it affects the memory,
orientation anddecision-makingabilities,amongothers.
•HIV-associateddementia or AIDS dementia complex:
The resultof neurallesions caused by the virus;it can 

Acevedo17

cause apathy and affect concentration and

communication andlanguage, among other issues.7

Uses:

•Dementia does not always occur duringlater life
10.Discapacidad Intelectual (English: Intellectual 
Disability):
A medicallabelapplied to a person whose intellectual

capacity is seen as inferior to that of most people considered

to be “normal”,and whose experienceofthe world is limited

byinternal andexternal factors that prevent them from

respondingin a typical fashion to various situations involving

communication,socialinteraction and cognitive tasks.8This 

7For more information, visit these links:

https://www.merckmanuals.com/es-us/professional/trastornos-
neurol%C3%B3gicos/delirio-y-demencia/demencia-asociada-a-hiv, 
https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es/diseases-conditions/vascular-
dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20378793, https://www.alz.org/alzheimer-
demencia/que-es-la-enfermedad-de-alzheimer

8The current concept of normality has its roots in preconceptions from themodern era whosepostulates are based on the thoughtof philosophersconvinced of the sovereignty of reason and individuality, and whoseintellectual principles were rootedin the belief that there is a sole,exclusive 
and “superior” wayof being, existing, inhabiting and interpreting the world 
(Horkheimer & Adorno, 1994; PatiñoGarcía, 2015). This arbitrary convictionis backedup historically through aesthetic, anatomicaland functionallawsdictated by the capitalist system according to the concept oflaborproductivity and efficiency (Ferreira,2008; Oliver and Barnes, 2012). From


an ideological and socioeconomic point of view, the arbitrary nature of these 
beliefs has unleashed a series of oppressive and discriminatory cultural and 
material practices that are visited upon people who are considered to fall 
outside the canon of “normality” (Foucault, 2002). 

clinical categorization refers to a group of specific numerical 
parameters established according to a set of standardized 
assessments that are collected during a process known as 
an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) measurement. 


Uses: 

• The organization entitled Self Advocates Becoming 
Empowered (SABE) was created by activists with 
intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United 
States. 


 

11. Discapacidad de Desarrollo (English: 
Developmental Disability) 

A medical label applied to a person considered to fall outside 
the parameters of what is clinically known as “typical” in 
terms of development, and whose experience of the world is 
limited by internal and external factors that prevent them 
from responding to different situations in a typical fashion, 
including situations involving communication, cognition and 
learning and social and cultural components. These clinical-
social parameters are established through a set of 


Acevedo19

descriptive andnumerical processes whose method ofassessmentis basedon a comparison of standardizedvariables. These variables aregenerallymeasured during the“developmental stage”. In Anglo-American societies, this 
periodis held to be the first 18 years oflife.
Uses:

•Autismis a developmentaldisability 
12.Dislexia (English: Dyslexia):
A neurologicallearningdisabilityof genetic origin 
involving various degrees of difficulty inlanguageacquisition,recognition of the written word andother 
graphic symbols, spelling, reading andwriting.

Uses:

•Dyslexicshave difficultydecoding graphic symbols such 
asletters and numbers. 
13.Directrices Sobre Interacciones y Lenguaje 
(English: Disability Etiquette):
Accordingto theconceptandpracticeofself-determination, 
disabled persons have the sameright as their non-disabledpeers to act as autonomous agents andmake decisions for 
themselves regarding every aspect of their lives.On thebasisof thisprinciple,various groups ofdisabledactivists 


Acevedo20

have established different,and at times contradictory,
preferences on the useof language regardingdisability as 
well as the tone, content andnuances of their interactions 
with non-disabled persons. Although preferences varybetween thesegroups accordingto their historicalexperience and their affiliationswith differentpoliticalmovements focusedondisability, the most important aspect 
ofthis formoflinguistic andrelationalself-representation is 
that it isoriginated by and for disabled persons. It is 
important to underline that this communicational andrelationalprincipleconsists of adirectinvestigation ofthe

personal preferencesof theinterlocutor.9

Examples: 

•Some people prefer what is known asFirst Person 
Language.Example:Maria hasa disability,Margarita 
has autism,Pedro has an intellectualdisability.10Some

people prefer what is termed theirIdentity First

9For more information, go to the following links :
https://adata.org/factsheet/ADANN-writing-esp, 
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/MediaLibraries/URMCMedia/strong-center-
developmental-disabilities/documents/language-matters_sp.pdf, 
https://igualdad.ine.mx/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Protocolo-
discapacidad.pdf

10Note:In the specific case ofactivistswith intellectual and developmentaldisabilities, there is a historical and political context behind the First PersonLanguage. One of the leading US organizations in the area ofself-
representation is Self Advocates Becoming Empowered(SABE).


Acevedo21

Language. Example:Antonio is disabled,Rosais 
autistic.

•When communicating with adeaf or hearing-impaired 
person through a sign languageinterpreter, be sure to 
concentrate your intention on the person that you’redirectlyinteracting with rather than theinterpreter.
•Do not touch any aids or auxiliary devices such as 
wheelchairs, walkingsticks or crutches withoutthepermission of the person who uses them; this is an 
essential partofshowing respectfor thatperson andtheir personalspace.
•When referringto disabilityor aspecific disabledperson,avoid euphemisms andcondescending terms 
such as “persons with special needs”, “differently-
abled”, “intellectually-challenged”, “able-disabled” or 
“an inspiration to others”. Clearly, there are differences 
in howlanguagecan beused.
•When holding apublic event, make sure that the forumcomplies with the regulations on accessibilityas 
stipulated in thelegal provisionsregarding the right ofaccess andparticipation for disabledpersons.Besure,
also, to offer advertising materials such as pamphlets 
with clear contactinformation and willingness to dealwith applications for access andprovide personalizedhelp when possible.

 

14. Interdependencia (English: Interdependence): 

Philosophical-practical principle involving an inter-subjective 
approach that establishes that relationships between all 
living beings, including those between human beings and 
other sentient or sensible beings, as well as among human 
beings themselves, are woven into their fundamental nature. 
Based on the ten principles of Disability Justice (Sins Invaid, 
2015) and updating Kropotkin’s concepts of solidarity, 
cooperation and mutual aid (1902), disabled activists of 
color, gay, trans and non-gender identified, initiated 
everyday political-practical projects of collective resistance 
and liberation formed around interdependence (Mia Mingus, 
2010). The vision of these activists focuses, then, on the 
conscious practice of this philosophy as a collective antidote 
to various types of violence, such as capitalist exploitation 
class conflict, heteronormative patriarchy, social 
discrimination, interpersonal aggression, mass incarceration, 
theft of indigenous lands, war, religious intolerance and the 
destruction of natural resources. 

 

15. Justicia por la Discapacidad (English: Disability 
Justice): 

An analytical framework and base social movement oriented 
towards praxis, political resistance and collective liberation 


Acevedo23

developed by agroup of disabled leaders ofcolor,gay, trans 
andnon-genderidentified (Patty Berne, 2015). The 
ideological roots of this movement can be foundin Berkeley,
California in the early 2000s in the feminist focus on 

intersectionality(Kimberlé Crenshaw, 1989).11In contrast

with theemphasis on disability as a central and prevailing 
identityin thestruggle for the inalienable rights of thedisabled, Disability Justice involves a comprehensiveunderstandingof theprocesses of systematic oppression andthe intrinsic links between capitalism, racism,classism, 
sexism,homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia,fatphobia,
and anti-immigrant sentiment and otherformsof material 
and cultural discrimination and alienation. Disability Justice 
thus signifies an unprecedentedadvance in the struggle for 
self-management and autonomy in disabledcommunities 
that goes beyond the historical andgeographicalcontext of 
the US and theworld as a whole 
(Patty Berne, 2015; Sins Invalid, 2017). 

16.Lector de Pantalla (English: Screen reader)
Computer technology providingaccess and aid through theuseof voicesynthesizers to reproduceinformation and otherbasic functions of a computer in an alternative way. In

11For more information, visit thislink:

https://afrofeminas.com/2019/01/24/interseccionalidad-definicion-historia-

y-guia/


Acevedo24

addition to converting text into speech,screen readers also 
handle Braille. Thereare various types of screen readers 
with different functionalfeatures dependingon the user’s 
access needs.
Uses:

•Screenreaders facilitate variousalternative methods ofcommunication.
17.Lesión Cerebral Traumática (LCT) (English: 
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)):
A brain lesion resulting from asudden,severe blow. TBIs 
are classified as mild, moderateor severe andcan be either 
focalor diffuse;thatis, to various parts of thebrain. TBI can 
havevarious clinicalconsequences andharmor impedevarious cognitive andbodily functions such as:memory,
perception,self-perception,communication andspeaking,
amongothers;anxiety,depression andisolation arealso 
common effects. TBI can resultin temporaryor chronic 
disabilities and,although in mostcases the disabilities 
causedby brain injury areinvisible, they can also be visibleas in the caseof:paralysis, paresis and strabismus. Thereare twoexternal typesof impact that cause TBI:

•Closed brain injury: Theheadstrikes a hardobject or 
surface.

Acevedo25

•Brain laceration:An object penetrates and fractures the
skull,injuring the brain.12

Uses:

•Automobile accidents are the main cause of TBI.
18.Movimiento de Derechos de los Discapacitados 
(English: Disability Rights Movement)
In the UnitedStates, duringthemid-1950s there werevarious nationalprotests againstthe material exclusion andsystemic violation of the human rights of the mostvulnerable andmarginalized members of society. Among themostnotableoftheseprotests are those demanding equalityfor women and their equalparticipation in all aspects ofeveryday life and thestruggleled by AfricanAmericans, whotook to the streets en masseto endracialsegregation andgain fullaccess to their full civilrights and legal protections.
This peak of social assertion in the 1960s also saw the birth 
of the politicalmovement led by disabled persons. Upuntilthispoint, disabled people were notlegally recognized as aminority or as citizens with fullrights. The Disability RightsMovement led to the enactment of anti-discrimination laws 
in the mostinfluential spheres of public life, such as 

12For more information, visit thislink:

http://www.medynet.com/usuarios/jraguilar/Manual%20de%20urgencias%2

0y%20Emergencias/traucra.pdf


Acevedo26

employment, education andhousing. Two of the mostwidely-known pieces oflegislation aresection 504 of theRehabilitationAct of 1973 and 1990’sAmericans with

Disabilities Act–ADA).13

19.Disability Models:
Conceptual, analytical and reference frameworks conceivedof within the theoreticalbodyofDisability Studies in order to 
interpret the diversebeliefs, attitudes and approaches 
surroundingdisability.

CharityDisabilityModelThe charity model, historicallyassociated with Christianity,
promotes theidea that beneficial, altruistic works lead tothe 
salvation of thesoul and eternallifein Heaven (Torres 
Jiménez, 2011). Theideology that understandsdisability asa tragic characteristic ofthe human condition worthy ofbenevolence and protection is closely associated with this 
belief. This frameworksupposes, therefore, that disabledpeopleare fundamentally incapableanddependent, andtherefore propersubjects for the pityofsocietyand thestate (Castro-GironaMartínez, 2018). Morerecent historicalapproaches classify andtreat disabled persons as a social

13For more information, visit thislink:

https://unchronicle.un.org/es/article/derribar-los-obst-culos-para-las-

personas-con-discapacidad-y-hacer-realidad-la-ciudadan


Acevedo27

and economic burden on thestate andthe collective. For 
example, the eugenicist policiesof NaziGermany were 
basedon thisconcept as the pretext for the extermination of

multitudes ofpeople as “useless eaters”.14Current state 

policies that use benefitprojects to afford rehabilitation 
projects such as Telethons havecontributed to the exclusion 
of thedisabledpopulation and the systematic violationof 

their civil rights.15

Modelo Religioso o MoraldelaDiscapacidad(English:
Religious/MoralModelofDisability):

The religious modelunderstands disability as a materialmanifestation oftheimpurityofthesoul.Accordingto thismodel,bodymind differences are the result of apenitenceinflictedby a divine power to punish an earthly transgression 

involvingheresy,incest,lustor criminalacts.16Although this 

14For more information, visit this link :

https://www.asodispro.org/index.php/informacion/articulos-de-
actualidad/88-el-exterminio-de-personas-con-discapacidad

15For more information, visit these links:

http://historico.agenciadenoticias.unal.edu.co/AgenciaUN_/pdf/Documento_anexo_850.pdf, 
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2014/11/141031_teleton_
cuestionamientos_nc, 
16The term bodymind has been popularized through theacademic work of the American MargaretPrice, aspecialist in 
disability studies. Briefly, Price(2015)isinspired by literatureand thefeministtradition and first introduced this termin her 


Acevedo28

modelis in general obsolete in the United Statesandotheranglophonecountries,in other parts ofthe world thesebeliefs stillhavecurrency.In someparts ofLatin America,
particularly ruralareas, the birth of a disabled child is seen 
as a punishmentfrom God on the parents, causing shame to 
the family andculturalstigma. It should be added that,in 
other cultures, disabilityhas also been considered a blessing

due to its connection with the divine.17

Modelo Biomédico delaDiscapacidad(English:BiomedicalModelofDisability):

Thisbiomedicalmodeldefinesdisability asanindividual“deficiency” forwhich only theperson “affected” isresponsible.According to this model, disabled persons 

essayThe BodymindProblem and the Possibilities of Painin order 
to challenge thesupposed distinction between bodily andmentalprocesses as theorizedby René Descartes in the seventeenth 
century. For Price, this separation is inaccurate and, as sheargues in her essay, physical and mental processes arefundamentallyinterlinked and operatedinterdependently. Price’sanalysis goes far beyondthis critical commentary to make thepoliticalcontext of disability more complex. However this analysisis beyond thescopeof this project.

17For more information, visit these links

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-45717111https://nccc.georgetown.edu/documents/IntegracionOInclusionDeNinos1.pdfhttp://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0188-
77422011000100011,
http://ww2.filo.uba.ar/contenidos/carreras/antropo/catedras/hist_teoria_antropologica/sitio/sitio/pdf/Benedict.pdf,


Acevedo29

shouldachievenormalization bymeans ofstandardizedandexperimental cures; rehabilitation, surgical, prosthetic,
‘therapeutic’, psychological, behavioral and ‘educational’procedures, and so on.

ModeloSocialdela Discapacidad(English:SocialModelofDisability):

The social model sees disability as a socialconstructoriginatingin the negative encounter between personswithbodymind impediments and their environment. This 
phenomenon is known as thedisability processand works 
viaaseries ofhistorical,institutionalandpoliticalrelationships and forces (Oliver and Barnes, 2012). Fromasocial perspective, disabilityis not located in thesupposeddeficit ofthe individualbutrather comes from the set ofarchitectural,socioeconomic, culturaland interpersonalbarriers that prevent disabled people from enjoying equalaccess to their civilrights and full participationinthecommunities they belong to.18

18The term “Social Perspective on Disability” was coined in the UnitedKingdom in the 1970s by a group of disabled activists,among them the well-
known Vic Finkelstein. In the 1980s, the British academic Mike Oliverpopularized this perspectiveunder the name “Social Model”,as it continues 
to be known. For moreinformation, visit thislink: 

http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/bmdc/v46n138/v46n138a8.pdf


Modelo Cultural de la Discapacidad (English: Cultural 
Model of Disability): 

This cultural model understands disability as an integrative, 
complex and multifaceted human experience that cannot be 
reduced to a dichotomous classification or semiotic 
reductionism separate from the historical and material 
context in which it is conceived (Mitchell y Snyder, 2006, 
2015). According to this point of view, disability is a bodily 
and psycho-social experience, a cultural identity and a locus 
of political struggle. This model arose in the US in the 1990s 
in order to redirect the binary understanding of disability as 
an individual tragedy (Biomedical Model) or as an oppressive 
social category (Social Model). 

 

20. Nada Sobre Nosotros Sin Nosotros (English: 
Nothing About Us Without Us): 

The political slogan popularized by disabled activists in the 
1960s to communicate the claim to the rights of 
participation, leadership and decision-making in all 
processes that concern them and affect them (Charlton, 
1998). Example: Government policies on disability, 
amendment and creation of new laws, affirmative action 
measures and equality between the legal, social and cultural 
environment and that of goods and services, among others. 

 


21. Neurodiversidad (English: Neurodiversity): 

A concept referring to the neurological diversity of the human 
condition, the principle of which is the refutation of the strictly 
clinical classification of neuro-cognitive variations as inherently 
pathological; these include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity 
disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive 
disorder and more. 
19 One of the first academic references to 
neurodiversity is attributed to the sociologist Judy Singer, who 
wrote that “The ‘Neurologically Different’ represent a new 
addition to the familiar political categories of class/gender/race 
and will augment the insights of the social model of disability.” 
(Singer, 1999, p. 4)20 This perspective gave rise to the 
Neurodiversity Movement, which is a political and cultural 
phenomenon that has been developing over the last two decades 
in various countries, and which is focused on the struggle for 
neurodiverse persons’ rights (ASAN, 2019; Walker 2014; McGuire 
2016; Acevedo 2018; Acevedo, 2017).

19 Manual diagnóstico y estadístico de trastornos mentales (5ª ed., Texto 
rev.). 

20 The original in English states: “The ‘neurologically different’ represent a 
new addition to the familiar political categories of class/gender/race and will 
augment the insights of the social model of disability” (Singer, 1999, p. 4). 

 

 

 


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Author: Sara M. Acevedo, PhD. 

Assistant Professor, Disability Studies 

Department of Educational Psychology 

Miami University 

 

 

This Vera Institute of Justice produced this document under 
award #2016-XV-GX-K015, awarded by the Office for Victims of 
Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. 
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations 

expressed in this document are those of the contributors and do 

not necessarily represent the oficial position or policies of the U.S. 
Department of Justice.