07/24/2026
Content Warning: mention of generative AI.
Happy Disability Month, p*e nong!
Our namesake is named after our niece, Lilian (Lily), a young woman who is disabled and requires supportive needs. This is a reminder that "disabled" is not an ugly word, and the use of outdated terms "handicap" and "special needs" can actually cause more harm than aid.
What makes these terms harmful?
"Special needs" stigmatizes disability, implies that basic human accommodations are "extra" or "extraordinary", and separates people from the standard human experience. It implies shame. Using a soft phrase like "special" suggests that saying "disabled" is negative or something to hide. It is also misrepresentative. Everyone has standard human needs. The accommodations a person with disabilities requires are standard access rights, not "special" or preferential treatment.
"Handicap" frames a person's limitation as an inherent personal deficit, evokes pity, and reduces individuals to a state of dependency. It basically means you are defining the person by what they cannot do rather than seeing them as a whole individual; you see them as anything but helpless. For example, when people meet Lily, their first response is, "oh, I'm so sorry she's Autistic" and don't see her as anything beyond that, they don't see that Lily is also a fashionista, make-up enthusiast, and can party like a rock star.
But please don't beat yourselves up for using these terms. We are all learning new things and adapting to them every day, just like how we have come to ridding of names like "GRID", which we know now, in the present, as "AIDS". And it is okay to slip up every now and then, it can be rough to transition. But that is why we keep going so that we can eventually make it normal-use.
So what terms can we use moving forward?
Instead of "special needs", try "supportive needs". Instead of "handicap", simply using "disabled" is sufficient enough. Both terms are very inclusive.
To lighten up the atmosphere of our page while we continue to play the waiting game for shipment to come, here is a wholesome moment of Lily's mommy sharing a book about Lily... WITH Lily!
DISCLAIMER: The book had the assistance of generative AI. We want to make this disclaimer because we are aware of the controversies. We want to state that not everyone in the LTC fam is supportive of its useage, but we also have members in the LTC fam who do use it. We all can spend our energy arguing back and forth, or pick our battles. In this case, we pick our battles. That is why we believe it is courteous to at least put a warning so that people can choose to engage or not. Please don't let this small mention of genAI useage take away from the entire point of the post, otherwise.
