Why is "with a disability" better than "disabled"?

[zorae]

Alex flags any instance of "disabled" and suggests "with a disability" instead. What is the reasoning behind this?

I am aware that some disability advocates have discouraged use of "disabled", but this is far from consensus. Other lists of ableist language don't flag "disabled" and I've personally met more people who describe themselves as "disabled" than who prefer "person with a disability".

[wooorm]

You are correct! It depends. The lists I based the original entries on at the start, preferred people-first language. I think alex should have more options, such as in this case, where it allows either people- or identity-first language.

However, that also has problems. E.g., people with AIDS historically fought for person-first language. But other groups, such as in the Blind, are serious about identity-first. So it shouldn’t all be an option.