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Accessible
Also written: Accessibility
preferred-over-handicappedevolving-usage
At a glance
Source-by-source
“Avoid using “handicapped” to describe locations or items designed to make a space more accessible. … Use the term “accessible” instead — “accessible parking” and “accessible bathroom stall”.”
Sierra Club prescribes “accessible” as the replacement for “handicapped” when describing spaces or facilities, giving “accessible parking” and “accessible bathroom stall” as the preferred forms — a usage rule communicators may run into when hosting in-person events, around restrooms or parking.
“Avoid using “handicap” and “handicapped” when describing a person. … The terms are still widely used and generally acceptable when citing laws, regulations, places or things, such as “handicapped parking,” although many prefer the term “accessible parking.””
NCDJ frames “accessible” as the preferred alternative to “handicapped” for places and things: while “handicapped parking” persists in laws and regulations, the guide notes that many prefer “accessible parking,” reflecting the same shift Sierra Club prescribes.
“The opportunity to access programs, services and facilities for people with disabilities. The extent to which a facility is usable and approachable for people with disabilities.”
Alone among these sources, DSG gives a bare definition rather than a usage rule — it does not pit “accessible” against “handicapped” the way Sierra Club and NCDJ do, but supplies the concept underneath that rule: accessibility as a measurable property, how usable and approachable a facility actually is for people with disabilities.
“Accessibility is achieved when people with disabilities can ‘acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services’ as people who do not have disabilities, in ‘an equally effective and equally integrated manner with substantially equivalent ease of use.’”
APA's disability glossary defines accessibility — quoting the U.S. Office of Civil Rights — as achieved when people with disabilities can acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as people without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The entry ties accessible design to the social model of disability rather than a deficit-based one.
Synthesis
This is a narrow, practical entry, and the sources agree on it: “accessible” is the preferred word for spaces, facilities, and features designed for disabled access, and it has replaced “handicapped.” Sierra Club states the rule directly — avoid “handicapped” for locations or items, and use “accessible parking” and “accessible bathroom stall” instead. NCDJ says the same in its handicap/handicapped entry: while “handicapped parking” survives in laws and regulations, “many prefer the term ‘accessible parking.’” The Diversity Style Guide supplies the definition, describing accessibility as the degree to which a facility is “usable and approachable for people with disabilities.” APA defines accessibility — by way of the U.S. Office of Civil Rights — as people with disabilities acquiring the same information, interactions, and services as everyone else, “with substantially equivalent ease of use,” and ties it to the social model of disability.
The sources differ only in scope. The journalism and movement guides (Sierra Club, NCDJ) treat “accessible” as the settled replacement for “handicapped,” with NCDJ’s one caveat being that “handicapped” remains acceptable when you are quoting a law, regulation, or official program name that still uses it. APA and DSG supply the concept underneath the usage rule: accessibility as a standard of equal participation.
Audience notes
- Event organizers and internal comms. Use “accessible” for parking, restrooms, entrances, and seating — not “handicapped.” When precision helps, name the actual feature (“step-free entrance,” “wheelchair-accessible restroom”).
- Journalists. Keep “handicapped” only when it is the exact legal, regulatory, or program name being cited; otherwise default to “accessible.”
Related terms