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In New York City there is an agency called "The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities." There is a fascinating article about how this age

In New York City there is an agency called "The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities." There is a fascinating article about how this agency has resisted changing their name.* >The debate over erasing the term “retarded” illustrates the issues that can arise as language shifts. Terminology was important to the parents who fought on behalf of children who until the 1950s were labeled “moron” or “imbecile.” For them, the initial popularizing of the term “mentally retarded” was a victory. A once-hidden population now had a name and a state agency. *http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/nyregion/08name.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/nyregion/08name.html

DanBC 12y ago
That's a great article! I hope we do better than we did 60 years ago!! I have a few colleagues who have a diagnosed learning disability. They strongly reject the word "disabled". They sY that labelling them as disabled transfers blame to them. Bob can't understand that document? Well, of course not, Bob has a learning disability. But in that situation the actual nlame lies with the person who created the document - that person lacked empathy, understanding, and the skill to make information meaningful and accessible. And in this situation Bob is not paid to read and understand information, while the person providing it often is paid to provide information. This echoes the sentiments from other disabled groups. You will often hear a person using a wheelchair say that the wheelchair is not the problem; that stupid bus without a ramp or the steps outside a shop are the problem. There is a difference between US and UK usage. US usage of learning disability includes things like dyslexia or dyscalcula; in UK these are probably learning difficulty.

3 ms·

In New York City there is an agency called "The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities." There is a fascinating article about how this age

by Ollinson 12y ago

DanBC 12y ago
That's a great article! I hope we do better than we did 60 years ago!! I have a few colleagues who have a diagnosed learning disability. They strongly reject the word "disabled". They sY that labelling them as disabled transfers blame to them. Bob can't understand that document? Well, of course not, Bob has a learning disability. But in that situation the actual nlame lies with the person who created the document - that person lacked empathy, understanding, and the skill to make information meaningful and accessible. And in this situation Bob is not paid to read and understand information, while the person providing it often is paid to provide information. This echoes the sentiments from other disabled groups. You will often hear a person using a wheelchair say that the wheelchair is not the problem; that stupid bus without a ramp or the steps outside a shop are the problem. There is a difference between US and UK usage. US usage of learning disability includes things like dyslexia or dyscalcula; in UK these are probably learning difficulty.