Person first language

Person first language

Words Can Hurt
Everyone knows words can hurt. For persons with Down syndrome and their families, the history of “labels” is not a pleasant one. Persons with Down syndrome used to be labelled “idiots, morons,” and “imbeciles” by both society and the medical profession. The label evolved into “Mongoloid, handicapped, mentally retarded, retarded,” and then for short, “retard.”

Today, these labels are considered politically incorrect, hurtful, and dehumanising.

Persons with Down syndrome should always be referred to as people first.

Instead of “a Down syndrome child,” it should be “a child with Down syndrome.” Also avoid “Down’s child” and describing the condition as “Down’s,” as in, “He has Down’s.”
Down syndrome is a condition or a syndrome, not a disease.
Persons “have” Down syndrome, they do not “suffer from” it and are not “afflicted by” it.
“Typically developing” or “typical” is preferred over “normal.”
“Intellectual disability” or “cognitive disability” has replaced “mental retardation” as the appropriate term