MovieChat Forums > Radio (2003) Discussion > Using respectful terms

Using respectful terms

posted 15 years ago by blynnpatton
10 replies | jump to latest

We need to think about how we refer to people who have disabilities. I have a niece who has Down Syndrome, and this has made me especially aware of the discrimination people who have disabilities face.

Examples of appropriate terms or references:
Joe has a cognitive disability.
Joe has Down Syndrome.
David has Autism.

Examples of references that are no longer considered appropriate:
Joe is mentally retarded.
Joe has a mental disability.
Joe is mentally handicapped.
Joe is a Down's person.
David is Autistic.

Examples of terms that are considered highly offensive and should never be used:
retard
tard
moron
idiot

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] blynnpatton 15 years ago

ARC is using the phrase Intellectual and developmental disabilities, but some people use the term cognitive disabilities. Both terms are appropriate. It is best to use the term disabilities instead of disabled.
For example:
Don't say, "I work with disabled children."
Instead, say, "I work with children who have disabilities."

The idea is that we should use people first language. The children in the above sentences are people first. They happen to have disabilities.

[–] wishingwell57 14 years ago

I understand the point you are making and it's beautiful. But you are requesting and expecting utopia. From what I see and read on the internet and on news websites, most people can hardly write a coherent sentence or can not spell anymore.

[–] blynnpatton 14 years ago

I'm not expecting utopia. I know some people won't change no matter what I say. It's sad, but true. I'm still going to try, though.

[–] LauraCohle 14 years ago

Keep trying, dear. Your effort and sensitivity is inspiring and your efforts do make a difference.

[–] blynnpatton 14 years ago

Thank you.

[–] sbingman693 14 years ago

My sister is autistic.

Yes. She is autistic. Why say she has autism? She is freaking autistic and I don't have a problem with that and neither do my parents.

Don't talk about something you don't know fully about. Autistic is a perfectly acceptable term as is mentally retarded. If someone is mentally retarded, then they are mentally retarded.

It seems ludicrous to say that "Mary Kate has autism" and that be okay v "Mary Kate is autistic." My sister is autistic and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

There is NOTHING WRONG with being mentally retarded, mentally handicapped, or autistic. And to say that those aren't 'appropriate terms' just means that you think that there is something wrong with it.

I mean it's like saying... "I'm from the South" instead of "I'm Southern." They're the exact same thing. No one should have to change a 'label' if that is what they are.

Please vote for my sister's school. www.votescs.org

[–] blynnpatton 14 years ago

I really don't have that much problem with the word autistic. I was just giving examples of people first language.

I do know something about disabilities. I have a niece who has a disability. I also struggled in school. I think I had some learning disabilities.

I still feel we should be careful how we talk about people who have disabilities.

I never said there was anything wrong with having autism. I just think we shouldn't use labels to put limits on people. I think it's better to say that someone has a certain condition than to use the condition as an adjective to describe the person. Many people do this to put limits on another person. I can tell that you don't, but other people do. As for the term mentally retarded, it is slowly being replaced, in professional circles, with the term intellectual disability.

[–] MrSirreal 14 years ago

The words moron, idiot, as well as embecile; all used to be legitimate clinical terms used by professionals to categorize people with varying degrees of mental retardation.

I agree with you that today these words have negative connotations--they have been abused over the years, and are mostly heard as epithets.

I'm no criminal. I can't even sell retail...and that's legal!--Judge Reinhold

[–] blynnpatton 14 years ago

Tom, I agree. Also, professionals in the past had misconceptions about people who had intellectual and developmental disabilities. Many of professionals thought that most of them should be institutionalized and that they couldn't learn. Most professionals no longer suggest institutionalizes people with these kinds of disabilities, except in the most extreme circumstances.