# Thoughts From Reading Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau DevFeed: [Thoughts From Reading Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Eevis Panula Published: 2023-01-03T08:57:46.868000Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Eevis Blog]() Topics: [Accessibility]() Tags: [accessibility](), [book](), [identity](), [people-with-disabilities](), [thought]() ## AI overview A personal reflection on Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau, focusing on disability, ableism, accessibility, disability etiquette, and the distinction between person-first and identity-first language. The author also connects the book's discussion to their experience of identity changes after a concussion. ## Source excerpt I finished reading Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau last week. It's a fantastic book discussing disability, ableism, accessibility, disability etiquette, and many more things. I highly recommend buying and reading or listening to it! I have so many thoughts from reading the book, and I want to share some of them with you. And I know many more will come, as I often process new things over the course of a longer time. Person-First Language vs. Identity-First Language So, for those unfamiliar with the terms, person-first language (PFL) means using phrases where the person comes first. So, for example, people with disabilities. On the other hand, identity-first language (IFL) recognizes that disability is part of the person's identity, such as Autistic people. Emily Ladau writes about her experiences with these approaches: Truth to be told, I went kind of overboard with my IFL evangelism at first. I could not understand why anyone would prefer PFL and pushed against it whenever I had the chance. I could say I was the opposite. At some point, it was difficult for me to understand why someone would like to go with the identity-first approach. Okay, I knew the reasons, but I could say I did not truly understand it. But now I do, and even better because of reading Demystifying Disability. The book also got me thinking about why I've been feeling this way. For those of you who don't know, I had a concussion a few years back. I'm still recovering from it, and I know that things won't go back to what they were before that hit. I was 26 when that happened, so I had a pretty strong sense of who I was before that. One thing was that I had an extraordinary memory. I could recall details so well that people around me found it strange sometimes. And that was a big part of my identity. After the concussion, I realized I have problems with my memory, and I've had to come a long way to actually accept that this is my life now and I'm not the same person as I used to be back then.