People First Language

Click here to read a more in depth article about People First Language.

This is something that I feel strongly about and really strikes a nerve with me. I have corrected people and had them roll their eyes at me. Like it is all about being PC and that it really doesn't matter how they word it. But it DOES matter.

My son is not a "Downs child". He is a person. He is my son. He is not defined by a medical term that his genetic make up is labeled as. Yes he happens to carry an extra chromosome. Yes he has Down syndrome. But he is not "a Down syndrome". Down syndrome does not define who he is.

What if you had cancer? Would you be accepting of somebody calling you cancer woman? Or crippled man? I would hope not because that does not define you.

I hope you take the time to read through the document I linked to above and educate yourself. Individuals with disabilities want, and deserve, to be seen as people first and respected as valued members of society.