Da pessoa com deficiência (PCD) à pessoa em contexto de acessibilidade (PCA): uma mudança epistemológica na compreensão, reconhecimento e valorização da inclusão

This article presents an epistemological, linguistic, and social reflection on the terminology used to designate people with long-term impairments who, in interaction with different barriers, may experience restrictions in social participation. It recognizes that the expression Person with Disability (PCD) is the terminology officially established in Brazilian legislation, particularly by the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (LBI), Law No. 13,146/2015. However, this study proposes, from a theoretical and conceptual perspective, the expression Person in an Accessibility Context (PCA) as a complementary and potentially substitutive terminology in academic, social, and institutional contexts. The proposal is grounded in the biopsychosocial model of disability, the concept of barriers, universal design, assistive technology, autonomy, and independence. The bibliographic and documentary review demonstrates that the LBI itself shifts the understanding of disability away from an exclusively individual and biomedical perspective toward an approach that considers the interaction between impairments and environmental, communicational, technological, architectural, and attitudinal barriers. From this perspective, the expression PCA seeks to shift the epistemological focus from individual deficit to the relationship between the subject and the context, emphasizing that social participation depends on the accessibility conditions provided by society. The study concludes that PCA should not currently be presented as a legal replacement for the term PCD, but rather as a conceptual proposition that may contribute to a new understanding of accessibility, functionality, autonomy, and social responsibility for the elimination of barriers.