Imagine if we were no longer known by our names or for the positive features about us but by our biggest insecurity. It is considered name calling or harassment throughout schools if we refer to someone as that fat girl, that ugly kid or that teacher with the big nose, so why is it ok for us to call someone my downs student or my retard son? It’s not!
A person’s special need should never be considered their defining trait. We are people first and our special needs or flaws are just one trait of many. People with special needs are no different than anyone else and want to be treated that way. “The autistic boy” down the street may be a great artist and want to be recognized for that first. “The downs kid” in your son’s class might be the fastest runner in her school and would like people to refer to her as a runner first.
So next time you are talking about someone with a special need remember they are a person first. He is a boy and he happens to have autism he is not an autistic boy. She is a girl and happens to have cerebral palsy she’s not that wheel chair bound girl.
