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| http://disabilityand.me/why-first-person-language-sucks/ |
I'm currently studying for my Masters in Special Education, and in many of our coursework an emphasis is placed on First Person Language, or People-First Language.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it basically means that we should refer to the person/individual first, and their disability later. Example: "Child/Student with Autism" not "Autistic child".
Zachary Lassiter over at Disability and Me blogged about this back in July, and he shares my view that this is just a huge WASTE OF TIME. While I appreciate the gesture to ensure the individual is seen before the disability, simply rearranging someone's words has no bearing on their actual beliefs. Besides, I have better things to worry about than get in a huffy because someone referred to Bugsy as an "autistic child" instead of "a child with autism"
I'll switch between both. I really have no qualms against either. What I do have a problem with is the fact that people are wasting time discussing which one to use. Just because someone says "child with autism" does not mean they automatically respect my child more. Case in point: our school district says that Bugsy is a "child with special needs" day in and day out, but they consistently fail to meet her needs and provide access (but that's a story for another time).
For me, it's a case of saying to-may-to or to-ma-to. What about you?
I understand your point, but to me, it does matter. I am an autistic woman, not a person with autism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that person first language is often used for the sake of political correctness by people who think autistic people/people with autism are less valuable, or even sub human. the difference is that (for me) this superficial attempt at tackling the prejudice faced by us makes it harder for me (and others like me) to tackle this prejudice and be an effective self advocate. there are other reasons, explained better than I could here http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read/436505/
most of the adults I've met on the autistic spectrum don't like person first language. for this reason, I would (if I met you irl) refer to Bugsy as "an autistic child" until she was old enough to say differently.