Use only correct language on people with disability

Ms Lidubwi spoke during a three-day media training workshop by Internews in Nairobi on disability reporting.

"On many occasions, when editors want to save space, they have ended up using short words such as disabled, autistic and deaf, hence stigmatising people with disability. Instead, they should start with the person as a noun followed by the adjective like a person who is blind, with autism and a person who is deaf," she said.

Lidubwi's remarks were echoed by former Senator Isaac Mwaura, who is a champion for people with disability.

Mr Mwaura said many success stories about people with disability have been told by the media, but they should correct the style of writing stories on persons with disability.

"Any person in the public eye is more of a product of the media. Many of the stories that have transformed the lives of persons with disability have been told by journalists, which have broken the misconception and prejudices," he said.

He said derogatory words used to refer to people with disabilities amount to stereotyping and affect 10 per cent of the country's 55 million population.

Dr John Ndavula, a communications lecturer at St Paul's University said language is important because it can be either enabling or disabling.

"Use descriptive words and portray people in good light," he said.