People First Language

LABELS NOT TO USE

• the handicapped or disabled
• the mentally retarded or he's retarded
• my son is autistic
• she's a Down's; she's a Mongoloid
• birth defect
• epileptic
• wheelchair bound or confined to a wheelchair
• she is developmentally delayed
• he's a crippled; lame
• she's a dwarf (or midget)
• mute
• is learning disabled of LD
• afflicted with, suffers from, victim of
• she's emotionally disturbed; she's crazy
• normal and/or healthy
• quadriplegic, paraplegic, etc.
• she's in Special Ed.
• handicapped parking

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LABELS TO USE

• people with disabilities
• people with mental retardation or he has a cognitive impairment
• my son has autism
• she has Down Syndrome
• has a congenital disability
• a person with epilepsy
• uses a wheelchair or a mobility chair or is a wheelchair user
• she has a develomental disablity
• he has an orthopedic disability
• she has short stature
• is nonverbal
• has a learning disability
• person who has...
• she has an emotional disability
• a person without a disability
• he has quadriplegia, paraplegia, etc.
• she receives Special Ed. services
• accessible parking

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