My Google search gives a slight preference in the other direction - 6m:8m. I don't know why the Google searches are so different in different places, but I guess you can't read much into those statistics.Google the two expressions and you'll find :
26 400 000 Disabled people vs 13 700 000 people with disabilities.
I want to know if these two phrases have the same meaning.
I personally think 'people with disabilities' sounds more respectful. Am I right?
I want to know if these two phrases have the same meaning.
I personally think 'people with disabilities' sounds more respectful. Am I right?
I think your two examples are pretty much equal. However, remember that in these "politically correct" times, you will find some people who think that any mention of the words "disabled" or "disabilities" is offensive, because of their negative connotations.
If you go back a few decades, you would have heard the word "crippled" used extensively. This was then changed to "handicapped" but that then went out of favour and was replaced with "disabled". Now, you will hear "differently abled" and "physically challenged" used, especially in official documents (government manifestoes, council leaflets etc).
Thank you for the interesting explanation. Just like the word blacks has given way to African Americans or in your part of the world African Britons, right?
It depends upon the context. In the US, both "disabled" and "people with disabilities" are acceptable/common usage, but whevenever possible it's preferable to mention the person first. That is, it's more appropriate to say "person with cerebral palsy".