People First Language

Talking about people with differences can become a touchy subject.  Everyone seems to have an opinion and sometimes we end up offending people, even if we try not to offend.

For me, disability impacts me personally, so I recognize that I can be sensitive about it.   In my case, I have a son who has autism.  It gets under my skin when I hear people say "he's autistic," or "he suffers from autism," as examples.  When I refer to my son, I say "he has autism" because, for me, his autism is not the only thing that I believe defines him.  You will never hear me say he "suffers" from autism.  I just can't define my son as "suffering."  If anything, he "flourishes."

Here's a simple thing to consider.   Put the person first, this is called person-first language.   It suggests people to say things like "Susie has Downs syndrome," rather than "she suffers from Down syndrome," or "she's Downs."

Imagine if we did this for people who might not have a disability, but have definable qualities.  For example, bitchy Joanne, mean Robert, cheater Peter.  I'm obviously try to make a point here.  Why offend a person who has a disability or someone who loves them, when it's just so easy to put the person first.

You may still end up offending someone who believes their disability or difference does define them, but you might be less likely to do so.

Examples of People First Language

Say This	Not This
people with disabilities	the handicapped, the disabled
people without disabilities	normal, healthy, whole or typical people
person who has a congenital disability	person with a birth defect
person who has (or has been diagnosed with)...	person afflicted with, suffers from, a victim of...
person who has Down syndrome	Downs person, mongoloid, mongol
person who has (or has been diagnosed with) autism	the autistic
person with quadriplegia, person with paraplegia, person diagnosed with a physical disability	a quadriplegic, a paraplegic
person with a physical disability	a cripple
person of short stature, little person	a dwarf, a midget
person who is unable to speak, person who uses a communication device	dumb, mute
people who are blind, person who is visually impaired	the blind
person with a learning disability	learning disabled
person diagnosed with a mental health condition	crazy, insane, psycho, mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, demented
person diagnosed with a cognitive disability or with an intellectual and developmental disability	mentally retarded, retarded, slow, idiot, moron
student who receives special education services	special ed student, special education student
person who uses a wheelchair or a mobility chair	confined to a wheelchair; wheelchair bound
accessible parking, bathrooms, etc.	handicapped parking, bathrooms, etc.

How is the Skill Measured?

"The devil is in the details"

When developing your child's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) goals with your child's school team,  make sure you understand how your child's progress toward their goals is going to be measured.

In my experience, some parents may not pay attention to the details in their child's IEP goals where it explains that it will be measured by "observation," "pre and post-line data," or "work samples," to name a couple of examples.  

I simply want to encourage parents to take a look at the goals and make a note of how they are measured being measured.