Using person-first language shows that we focus on people (not categories)
/Because we value individuals instead of emphasizing the disability, we want our words to reflect that as well. It is considerate to consider carefully how you talk about individuals with special needs, always referring to the person first instead of his/her disability. (And it's also wise to consider whether or not the disability even needs to be mentioned; oftentimes, it would be better to describe the person by name or by other characteristics.) Below is a table of respectful, person-first language and disrespectful or unkind language.
| Respectful, person-first language | Disrespectful, unkind, and/or disability-first language |
| Individuals with special needs | Special needs people |
| James, who happens to have Down syndrome | A Down’s guy |
| Jessica, a girl with autism | The autistic kid |
| Intellectual disability | Retard or retarded (even the term “mental retardation” is no longer being used in most disability-related fields) |
| Physical impairment | Crippled, deformed, physically inconvenienced |
| Has ______________ | Suffers from __________________ |
| Person, child | Patient, case |
Additionally, some terms meant to empower people with disabilities can also be insulting and condescending because they dismiss the difficult aspects that may accompany the disability; some examples are “handicapable” or “definitely-abled.”
We use the table above to train our volunteers, but it's not just about their own language choices. We also ask them to use this to train others in their ministry areas. For example, it’s unkind for a high schooler to call something or someone “retarded,” but I've seen many church leaders not even bat an eyelash when one of their students throws that word around. We ask our student ministry leaders to address that language if they hear it from students, in the same way that they would not tolerate derogatory slurs related to another minority group.
And, finally, if you’re having trouble figuring out how to refer to a person, take the advice of disability ministry pioneer, Dr. Jim Pierson[1]: just use his or her name.