People First LanguagePeople First: Disability SecondUsing People First LanguageDid you know that Americans with disabilities are the largest minority group in the nation? And also happens to receive the most discrimination and misunderstanding as well. The way we describe and refer to individuals with disabilities keeps those societal stereotypes in place, and the best way to change those attitudes and bring down those walls is to change the way we talk about people that also have disabilities. “We are not our disabilities” is the attitude that must first start with those who have a disability, and then reflected by those who support them. We cannot expect society to accept and understand us if we are still referring to our own child as “my autistic daughter”. Disabilities are a medical diagnosis, the same as genital herpes, but I am pretty sure you would not want to be referred to as “the herpes person”. Your person is not defined by genital herpes, any more than your child is defined by the medical diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder.
So, what exactly is people first language?Words do matter. People first language puts the person before the disability and is used to describe what a person has and not what a person is. A child with disabilities as opposed to a disabled child. It makes a big difference.People first language considers a person’s self-image, good manners and is not concerned with being “politically correct”. It is the right thing to do.
ExamplesUse this: Child(ren) with disabilites instead of: handicapped, disabled, special needs.Say: He has a cognitive disability and not: He’s mentally retarded. She has autism. She is NOT autistic. Just as you would say: He has Down Syndrome and not: he’s Downs/Mongoloid. She has a learning disability. We don’t say: She is learning disabled. And you would say that: He is receiving special education services and not call him a SPED. Being polite and respectful is one thing, and being politically correct is completely different. In this case, (and many others) the sooner we drop the pretense of “political correctedness” the better. Put people first and describe what disability they have and not as if they are the disability. Allow them the dignity and the possibility to live their life and not their disability.
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