# What should I call non-handicapped people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508 "2001-04-02T16:47:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/1 "2001-04-02T16:47:07Z")
How about: 1. Severly-Able-Body 2. Handicap Impaired 3. Handicap Challenged ? Any thing else? ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/2 "2001-04-02T18:06:03Z")
How about 1. Handi-bareheaded? 2. Handy 3. Hi Opal (I can’t believe I just did that) ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/3 "2001-04-02T19:24:09Z")
I know someone who uses “temporarily able bodied” ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/4 "2001-04-03T07:20:37Z")
I’ve been known to use the term “NDA” about flod2k. Stands for “Not Diagnosed with Anything”. (In contrast to his hypotonic older brother, y’see.) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/5 "2001-04-03T07:22:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > How about: 1. Severly-Able-Body 2. Handicap Impaired 3. Handicap Challenged ? Any thing else? > \*\* Handicapable. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/6 "2001-04-03T07:54:59Z")
Fred. ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/7 "2001-04-03T08:51:33Z")
1. Mundanes 2. The empathetically disadvantaged 3. Personal assistant pool (non-canine) ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/8 "2001-04-03T09:26:24Z")
Our Para Olympic athletes refer those who aren’t disabled as “normies”. But calling this particular person reprise will do just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/9 "2001-04-03T10:48:50Z")
When working for a disability arts organisation, i came across a guy who was a wheelchair user and he called his son, who was not disabled, “Walker”. That was his name on his birth certificate. He also called non-disabled people “The Normals”. The man was quite political. How about… Stair-users Digitally challenged/disadvantaged (for non-sign-language users) More coming when i think of them… Fran ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/10 "2001-04-03T12:14:23Z")
Gee, we don’t have any cute names around here… We just say “able-bodied” – when it comes up, which ain’t that often. ---
**Author:** ![Jenericho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Jenericho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenericho)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/11 "2001-04-03T13:17:58Z")
Just take the standard term for people with a condition and add “challenged” to the end - eg: hearing people: aurally challenged challenged, sighted people: visually challenged challenged and so on. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/12 "2001-04-03T13:24:41Z")
[Harrison Bergeron](http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~hollis/personal/bergeron.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/13 "2001-04-03T14:33:08Z")
_them_ ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/14 "2001-04-03T16:12:01Z")
Deaf people refer to hearing people as ‘hearies’ They have a specific sign for that word too, since you know, they don’t talk much. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/15 "2001-04-03T17:38:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*They have a specific sign for that word too, since you know, they don’t talk much. \*\* But they sure do post alot 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/16 "2001-04-03T20:14:01Z")
Lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_G7subs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85e7bf/32.png) [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/17 "2001-04-03T21:07:57Z")
Oh…I dunno…how about “Normals”? ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2001, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-call-non-handicapped-people/60508/18 "2001-04-04T09:23:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > Deaf people refer to hearing people as ‘hearies’ They have a specific sign for that word too, since you know, they don’t talk much. \*\* We don’t have a specific sign for “hearies” in British Sign Language… but then i’ve never seen anyone call them anything other than “hearing people” - both signs included. Or occasionally the “quote normal quote”. And hell, my mother never shuts up 😉 Fran