At Meny in Larvik, Henriette Hvarnes Hansen (27) fills the cold counter with goods. She is mildly developmentally disabled, but does not like the word. She believes that there are such great variations in developmental disabilities that it would be wrong to put everyone in one big category. – One walks around with a feeling that we somehow do not have a dignified life. It is unpleasant, says Hansen. She feels the word like a stamp on her forehead. In the autumn, the Norwegian Association for Developmental Disabilities will take the word developmentally disabled up for debate at the national meeting. The debate concerns both how the group should refer to itself and what the organization should be called. Hansen heads the association’s experience committee, which will come up with good suggestions for other words. She herself would rather use the word functional variation. Henriette Hvarnes Hansen heads the experience committee of the Norwegian Association for Developmental Disabilities. They discuss alternative words for developmentally disabled. Photo: Frode Fjerdingstad / news Many prejudices – Developmental handicap is a burdensome word, says confederation leader Tom Tvedt. Many parents and other members believe that the word is full of prejudices and that they are put in a box. At the same time, the word is linked to the international medical diagnosis, mental retardation. – We have removed the word psychological from the organisation’s name, but there is still a discussion. It’s about society’s stigma around rape, says Tvedt. Tom Tvedt is the head of the Norwegian Association for the Developmentally Disabled. Tvedt believes it is time for a proper debate, even if the topic is difficult. He believes that the way the group is mentioned is important for how one is viewed both in working life and in society in general. – The biggest disability in our society is actually a lack of knowledge and bad attitudes, says Tvedt. What words do you think you should use? Functional disability Functional impairment Developmental disability Handicap Crippling All words are fine None of the words should be used Show result Calling themselves disabled Also in the Norwegian Handicap Association, there is constant discussion about whether it is time for a name change. Camilla Huggins Aase is in a wheelchair and calls herself disabled. – In all the cases we have operated with in the past, there is some premise that one has reduced functional abilities. There’s something wrong with you, you’re the one who’s a bit weird, says Aase. She would rather that the obstacles she encounters in society should be reflected in the words that are used. Camilla Huggins Aase works at the Norwegian Handicap Association. Ho sits in a wheelchair and thinks the best word is to use disabled. The word reflects that it is society that must make arrangements for the inhabitants. Photo: Alem Zebic / news From cripple to handicap The Norwegian Handicap Association is almost 100 years old, and first it was the word cripple that was used, then cripple and then handicap. Now the word handicap is no longer used for people either. – We will probably find ourselves in a situation where we are discussing whether the words must be changed, because the understanding we put in the words is wrong, says federation leader Tove Linnea Brandvik. Tove Linnea Brandvik is the leader of the Norwegian Handicap Association Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news There is also discussion about the word disabled, because people use it incorrectly. Many people use disabled and disability interchangeably. Disability is not about a person’s physical ailments, but obstacles one encounters in society, such as the lack of opportunities to take a bus or train or enter the cafe, according to Brandvik. – Functional impairment is what is in my body, me as an individual, explains Brandvik. No problem being called home Torstein Lerhol is known as the business manager and politician who does all his work lying in a wheelchair. He is preoccupied with the context in which the word is used, who says it and how it is said. – If you call me disabled, or at home, or handicapped, or crippled, it doesn’t mean much to me, purely personally, as long as the context is right, says Lerhol. If the words are said in the best sense, he does not care about it. He fears that society will become so afraid of saying the wrong thing that it will become a barrier to making contact. Torstein Lerhol believes that people must not be so afraid of using the wrong word that they do not dare to refer to the disabled. Photo: Alem Zebic / news Utviklingshemma football players At Aker Stadion there is football training, and even if it is not the elite team Molde that is on the field, the effort is great. – Now we have played a bit with the ball, says Ole Magnus Oterhals. He has Down’s syndrome and when he has to explain what kind of football team it is, he usually says that the players are developmentally disabled. – Then everyone knows what it is, says Oterhals. The team is called the development team, and those who do not get a place on regular football teams play here. Oterhals has no problem with being called developmentally disabled when talking about the whole group. – But we have our names. Our names are Ole Magnus, Emil and co., says the footballer. The football team will be a development arena for those who need help in everyday life. Photo: Remi Sagen / news
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Henriette will not be called developmentally disabled
