ABSTRACT
Being in the field of special education, I am very sensitive to the power of
language. Labeling individuals with a disability term results in limited thinking
and understanding for those interacting with the disabled. Our society has come
a long way from the early 1900s when labels such as moron, idiot, imbecile, and
retardate were commonly applied to people with disabilities. Disability advocates
have long advocated for “people first” language in an effort to emphasize that a
disability is only a part of a person and should not be considered all-defining. The
largest self-advocacy group for individuals with disabilities in this country is
called People First, and it insists that rather than calling someone retarded, autistic,
or disabled, it is more appropriate to refer to a person with mental retardation,
a child with autism, or an individual with a disability.
