Putting the Person First

by Victoria E.

We need to talk about the way we talk about people who have disabilities. I recently told someone that my becoming a special education teacher was not just to provide an education for students who have disabilities, but to also be a teacher to those who are drowning in stereotypes and misinformation.

First of all, the r-word (retard), forget it. It’s gone. It’s ugly. Please, stop using it. That word is a remnant of a time when people who had disabilities were disregarded, mistreated, neglected. We are done with that time. Let’s move on.

During my time in school, I’ve learned about something called Person First Language (PFL). Learning to speak in PFL is relatively simple. We don’t need to take a semester long course to learn pronunciation or buy an expensive computer program in order to learn it. In fact, all we have to do is create a habit. A habit that involves us putting the person we are talking about before their disability. I’ll give you an example. Instead of saying “the autistic kid,” we should say “the child who has autism,” and instead of “Johnny has Down’s,” we should say “Johnny is an active young man who loves to sing.” Here’s another example: “handicap parking” should be “accessible parking.” Do you see the difference? In the first phrases, we’re essentially taking an entire person and condensing them down to one trait, their disability. Well guess what… they are people, NOT a disability. Most of the time, mentioning that someone has a disability isn’t even necessary, especially if we are going to use that disability as an introduction.

I know some of us abhor anything that seems like it was created to avoid stepping on toes. This whole language change is not about being politically correct. It’s about treating the people in our communities with the same level of respect that we would expect someone to treat us with. That old Golden Rule we learned as children is coming back to haunt us. I’m sure that you would not enjoy someone always introducing you as the person who “has red hair” or “wears glasses.” You have a name; you are more than one trait. Keep that in mind when you are talking to and about people who have disabilities.

This habit is easy to pick up. Trust me. Once you begin to put people first, it will be as easy as breathing. You’ll find that it bothers you when you hear other people using language that isn’t person first. In that moment, perhaps you too will have the opportunity to become a teacher.