Many people who are non-disabled have difficulty understanding the barriers in society that disabled people face. Ableism comes in the form of stereotypes, assumptions, and demeaning language. An example of ableistic language, is identifying people with developmental disabilities as ‘consumers.’
Here is a definition we like:
Ableism is a form of discrimination or prejudice against individuals with physical, mental, or developmental disabilities that is characterized by the belief that these individuals need to be fixed or cannot function as full members of society (Castañeda & Peters, 2000). As a result of these assumptions, individuals with disabilities are commonly viewed as being abnormal rather than as members of a distinct minority community (Olkin & Pledger, 2003; Reid & Knight, 2006). Because disability status has been viewed as a defect rather than a dimension of difference, disability has not been widely recognized as a multicultural concern by the general public as well as by counselor educators and practitioners.
Laura Smith, Pamela F. Foley, and Michael P. Chaney, “Addressing Classism, Ableism, and Heterosexism in Counselor Education”, Journal of Counseling & Development, Summer 2008, Volume 86, pp 303-309.
Wikipedia definition of ableism here.
AutisticHoya’s blog post about Ableism/Language