Scout Ahead https://www.scoutahead.org/plans/disabilities-awareness-merit-badge/steps/01M0QZFQX4MJFSK22NEJM6MY5T

Task · part of 1. Do the following: the words, and the manners

1(a). Six terms, and two of them govern later requirements

Required Often forgotten

Disability, accessibility, adaptation, accommodation, invisible disability, and person-first language. THE LAST TWO COME BACK. Invisible disability is the whole subject of requirement 4 Option B and is named again in 3(e). Person-first language is not just defined: 5(a) requires you to use it.

Notes and warnings

Warning. TWO OF THESE SIX TERMS ARE INSTRUCTIONS RATHER THAN VOCABULARY. Invisible disability is the entire subject of requirement 4 Option B, and is named again in 3(e). Person-first language is not merely defined here: requirement 5(a) says to explain AND USE it during your presentation. The other four, disability, accessibility, adaptation and accommodation, are the language the rest of the badge is written in, and the distinction between adaptation and accommodation is the one most often blurred. ON PERSON-FIRST LANGUAGE, KNOW THAT IT IS NOT UNIVERSAL. Parts of the autistic and Deaf communities prefer identity-first language and say so clearly. The requirement asks you to explain and use person-first language, and understanding why some people choose otherwise is what turns a rule you have memorised into something you understand.

Where this step comes from

  1. Disabilities Awareness Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-19), Requirement 1(a) · The requirement names disability, accessibility, adaptation, accommodation, invisible disability, and person-first language.

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