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Person First Language

Written by: Russell DeWitt

Article Overview: Frank Barron said, "Never take a person's dignity: it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you." (thinkexist.com) This can begin as early as how an individual is addressed. This article provides a reminder on adressing other individuals as people rather than labels. The article is designed for a facilitator to include in a staff meeting.

Person First Language

Person first language "The cancer patient."

"The downs-boy"

"The deaf guy"

How all-too-often have we heard those terms.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has stated "When you refer to a 'disabled woman,' your listener or reader has already begun to form some kind of image of 'disabled' before he/she hears the word 'woman.' The subject of the sentence then hasn't the chance to be thought of as a regular person."

APA continues, "Language influences perceptions and behavior...Through language usage, we can conjure up images of people actively engaged in life, and we can avoid stereo-typical phrases that suggest helplessness or tragedy."

Team exercise:

Disability is Natural web site offers tips on how to guard our language when referring to individuals with disabilities. One of the first suggestions is to use possessive language. For example:

Rather than "Jenny is autistic," we could say "Jenny has autism." Try finishing these sentences:

• "Rather than 'Daniel is prosthetic,' we could say, '(Daniel has a prosthetic).'"
• "Rather than 'Rick is blind,' we could say, '(Rick cannot see).'"
• "Rather than 'Mrs. Smith is demented,' we could say, '(Mrs. Smith has dementia)'."

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Article Tags: american psychological association, apa, autism, cancer patient, deaf guy, dementia, first language, helplessness, individuals with disabilities, jenny, language influences, language usage, li li, listener, mrs smith, perceptions, sentences, team exercise, typical phrases, word woman



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