From: Janet Wanamaker <JWanamaker>
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 09:24:26 -0500

Ginny's post gives me an opportunity to share information about "People First Language." If you google? this term you will find 225,000,000 listings.

People First language puts the person in front of the disorder or disability. For example, I work with children with speech/language delays. One child has apraxia, he's not "an apraxic." Colleagues of mine work with children with learning disabilities, not LD kids. We work with children with autism, hearing impairments and cognitive disabilities, not autistic, hearing impaired or cognitively disabled children.

The media hasn't picked up on this though. Even NPR (say it isn't so!) has used non-People First language.

This link will get you to the first of the 225,000,000 citations on People First Language.

http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/peoplefirstlanguage.htm

I hope this is helpful.

Janet Wanamaker Neenah, WI
Received on Fri 13 Oct 2006 09:24:26 AM CDT