Not Their Disability: Using People-First Language
According to a 2007 census survey, over 41 million Americans over the age of five live with a disability of some sort. That comes out to around 15% of our entire population.
Disabilities come in all shapes and sizes, but so do human beings. As an educator, sometimes it might seem easy to let the student get lost in their diagnosis, but we must remember the child behind it.
That’s where people-first language comes in. People-first language aims to remove the “disabled” label and bring individual identity back to people who live with disabilities.
But making the switch from descriptor-first language can be a difficult one. Keep reading to learn more about people-first language and how to implement it in your daily life.
What is People-First Language?
People-first language is a method of describing people respectfully. Instead of focusing on differences that the student has, people-first language places emphasis on the student.
For example, when describing a student who has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, instead of saying “that student is ADHD” we say “that student has ADHD.”
When we say things this way, we are showing in a basic way that the student isn’t entirely made up of their differences. That student isn’t ADHD, ADHD doesn’t make up who they are or tell us anything about them. It’d be like saying “that student is cancer” when describing a student with cancer.
There’s a reason we don’t talk about people as if they are their medical diagnosis. It’s degrading and dehumanizing. We need to start extending that same mindset to all diagnoses.
The Psychology of People-First Language
The language that we use in our everyday lives changes and shapes the perceptions of the world around us. Language helps us form ideas about people and things. It’s the first building block we can work with when we are forming our opinions about our environment and the people in it.
When we use descriptor-first language, like “disabled person”, we emphasize the condition instead of the person. This takes away from the person as an individual and instead relates them directly to their disability.
In 2008, scientists conducted a study on how teenagers perceive people with disabilities. They wanted to prove why person-first language mattered so much.
The scientists studied groups of teenagers from a summer camp. They put the students into two groups and asked them questions. One group was asked a series of questions about “people with epilepsy” while the other answered questions about “epileptics.”
They asked questions like “do people with epilepsy have more difficulties at school” and “are you prejudiced towards epileptics” and they studied their answers.
This study showed that the teenagers had more stigma-based responses when received questions about “epileptics” compared to when they have questions about “people with epilepsy.”
Media Representation
Throughout time, the media has portrayed people with disabilities as people to ignore, fear, or pity. This representation matters.
Because of poor representation in our media, the people with disabilities in our society get mistreated and devalued. They’re underpaid and underrepresented.
Even small changes in the way we talk to and about people with disabilities can change the way the world sees them. Even better is that we can change the way people with disabilities view themselves.
Applying People-First Language
Now that you know what people-first language is and why it’s important, let’s take a look at how you can implement it in the classroom.
As an educator, it should be your goal to make your classroom inclusive of all children. Person-first language should be your first step to ensuring that happens.
The first step to using person-first language in your everyday life is to attempt to apply it to yourself. Think about some of the things that apply to you. How do you like the outside world to view you?
People use a nearly infinite number of ways to categorize us in their minds. Typically, it starts with our appearance and from there it goes a little deeper.
Let’s say you’re a person who has a big nose. Now, it’s never nice to comment on someone’s appearance in the first place, but let’s just roll with it for now. If someone were to say “that big-nosed person over there” it takes away your identity entirely, breaking you down to a person with a big nose.
Let’s make that even simpler. Let’s say that today you wore purple pants to class. Instead of calling you “the person wearing purple pants” let’s say someone calls you “the purple pants person over there.”
That doesn’t exactly feel nice either, does it?
We need to ensure that we are remembering to evoke compassion and empathy with everything we say.
In the same way that we don’t want people to simplify our identities to the very basic building blocks of who we are, we should strive to never do that to our students as well.
Another way to start using more compassionate language in your classroom is to make sure that you’re referring to each disability by its appropriate, correct term. It’s Down syndrome, not Down’s. It’s bipolar disorder, not bipolar.
And remember, when you’re referring to students who have these differences, put the student first.
Dismissing “Special Needs”
Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to putting people first in language is that language is always growing.
There was a time when the word “retarded” was a medical term. Then, over time thanks to a bastardization of the word and rampant misuse and prejudice, the word became offensive. Nowadays it is never acceptable to call anyone that word.
The same thing is true for “sped” which came from the abbreviation of special education. A child is never “spastic,” “nonverbal,” “handicapped,” “mental,” or “slow.” We need to remove all these terms from our everyday vocabulary.
But language evolves. There are terms that many of us still use today that were once acceptable to use to refer to people with differences and disabilities that are no longer acceptable.
“Special needs” is one of these words.
As we mentioned before, the words we use change and shape the attitudes and perceptions of the people we meet. “Special needs” is becoming one of the disability descriptors that perpetuates negative stereotypes and stigma.
At the end of the day, even if it might seem uncomfortable, it’s important to carve these words out of our vocabulary no matter what our intentions are when using them. It’s about respecting the individual and their identity.
Not Just Semantics
As teachers, we have to protect our students from harmful stigma and stereotypes. While it might seem like “only words” or semantics, it’s not.
It is of dire importance that we don’t chalk our students’ safety and well-being up to “language politics.”
We are the first line of defense our students have against these kinds of damages. No matter what your personal opinion is, your language in the classroom needs to reflect the growing climate and be compassionate and empathetic at all times.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
While all this is important, it’s also important to remember that we need to take into account how people want us to refer to them. No matter how well-meaning our intentions may be, when we refuse to acknowledge that people with differences and disabilities also have their wants and needs, we do more harm than good.
For example, many people in the Deaf community would rather be called a Deaf person rather than a person with deafness. This is because people in the Deaf community acknowledge their deafness as a big part of their identity.
However, others consider themselves deaf, with a lowercase “d”, who may want you to refer to them as a person with deafness.
We can apply this same theory to people with autism. There are many people with autism who accept autism as a large part of their identity, so referring to them as autistic would be fine.
No matter what, it’s important to consider the person. If you don’t know how your student views their difference or disability, it’s safe to fall back on people-first language and go from there.
Your Language Counts
Using people-first language is just the first step in a long line of actions we need to take in our classrooms to ensure that all our students feel welcomed and invited. No matter how small the step may be, we have to take it. Changing the way we talk to accommodate all people is a small price to pay for the comfort and safety of many.
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