[games_access] Semantics

Barrie Ellis barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk
Tue Feb 7 03:05:46 EST 2006


I don't think the WHO definitions are very popular in the UK outside of the 
medical profession. They tend to see disability in a medical sense 
(understandably in some ways) as opposed to a social sense. Increasingly, to 
my understanding, disabled people and groups in the UK prefer to see 
themselves as disabled by their environment and society, and not so much by 
themselves. Also, the word 'Handicap' is rapdily being seen as quite 
derogatory, in large due to it's origins in the phrase 'cap in hand', 
relating to when disabled people had to beg in the streets to survive in 
this part of the world.

Barrie
www.OneSwitch.org.uk




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thomas Westin" <thomas at pininteractive.com>
To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 11:24 PM
Subject: Re: [games_access] Game Accessibility web-site - PC time


> yes I agree gamer is much better
>
> just for information, there are definitions for impairment, disability and 
> handicap defined by WHO. Basically they are
> - impairment: an impairment that doesn't stop you from living your every 
> day life, work etc
> - disability: an impairment that demands special assistance / tools etc to 
> handle every day life, work
> - handicap: this has nothing to do with the individual, but with the 
> environment. Example: In Doom3 deaf gamers are handicapped, but in 
> Doom3[CC] they are not.
>
> /Thomas
>
> 9 years of development and education with Adobe/Macromedia Director
> Award at the Independent Games Festival: www.terraformers.nu
> Founder of IGDA Game Accessibility SIG www.igda.org/accessibility
> http://www.pininteractive.com
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sander Huiberts NEWS" <news at ebass.nl>
> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 3:24 PM
> Subject: Re: [games_access] Game Accessibility web-site - PC time
>
>
>>
>> Hello All!
>>
>> I'm new here, although Richard has kept me informed...I will be at the 
>> GDC with Richard! Besides the fact that I play the double bass and some 
>> other minor differences, my activities are very much the same as Richard 
>> (PhD game audio, AudioGames.net, GDC, etc).
>>
>> I would like to react to Barrie...I've encountered that (for instance) a 
>> blind person will (almost) never say he is visually impaired. I think it 
>> has to do with the target audience. Considering the target audience for 
>> the specific forum I think Richard and I did not select the correct 
>> terminology for a forum, it is too repulsive. Or at least, when we want 
>> gamers to discuss there...
>> The terminology Barrie comes up with is much better!
>>
>> That's my opinion...
>>
>> Sander
>>
>>
>>
>> Barrie Ellis schreef:
>>> Some thing that stands out to me looking at the 
>>> http://www.accessibility.nl/games/index.php?pagefile=games  web-site is 
>>> the terminology. I know a number of disabled people in the UK that would 
>>> wince at the use of the word 'impairment' for the four genres. Instead 
>>> of...
>>>
>>> Gaming with a visual impairment
>>> Gaming with an auditory impairment
>>> Gaming with a motoric impairment
>>> Gaming with a cognitive impairment
>>>
>>> the following might be more PC:
>>>
>>> Partially sighted and Blind gamers
>>> Deaf gamers
>>> Physically disabled gamers
>>> Learning disabled gamers
>>>
>>> I think there'll be a fair bit of bleed between the genres too. Looks a 
>>> really interesting project though.
>>>
>>> Barrie
>>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> games_access mailing list
>>> games_access at igda.org
>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
>>>
>>
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