What does it mean to use inclusive language? It means not using words, phrases, images and tones that present gender stereotypes or discriminate against specific groups of people because of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ethnicity, physical appearance, social status.
Some expressions are considered inappropriate, such as 'handicapped', 'paraplegic', 'autistic', as they make the human being coincide with one of the attributes that characterise him/her, while the presence of a disability is only a part of people's lives.
Even expressions such as 'suffers from', 'is affected by', 'is a carrier of', are considered inappropriate as they would imply that 'the place' where the disability is located is in the individual, who, almost automatically, would be considered 'sick' or 'ill', 'suffering' and 'victim'.
Inclusive language is a path of constant listening and learning. It is a delicate matter and one can be afraid of making mistakes in the choice of words to address an individual or a community. Respect, openness and empathy are needed.
You may think you are afraid of making mistakes, but you can ask questions directly to the person you are addressing or to the group itself.
What can be inclusive and accessible?
Including subtitles, writing and speaking simply, because there are different levels of schooling and different ages; preferring large fonts and spacing; writing alternative text - where possible (on the web and social media) - to describe a picture to blind or visually impaired people; writing in a way that makes it easy to understand for people who use screen readers.
It is also inclusive to ask for pronouns from the person we are talking to: she can be called Juliet but use male pronouns or be called John and use female pronouns. These are all small tricks, which are very important and which underline the interest and respect of others