What is the politically correct way to say someone has mental disabilities, or mental retardation.
2007-10-22 04:18:45 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Mental Health
You would use person first terminology, meaning you would state the person first, then the disability. You should say a person with special needs, a child with Down Syndrome, a man who uses a wheel chair. You do not use the words handicapped. You must focus on the abilities versus the disabilities.
And on a personal note...please stop using the word "retarded" in the negative slang...ie "That show was retarded"...it is really offensive to those who have mental retardation.
2007-10-22 07:44:02 · answer #1 · answered by Meghann 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
in this politically correct world, almost anything you say as a descriptive can be misconstrued. I have heard mentally challenged, mentally disabled and mentally retarded, they all mean exactly the same thing. Frankly, if someone takes offense all you can do is apologize and ask what they would want you to say to describe the problem.
2007-10-22 11:23:07 · answer #2 · answered by essentiallysolo 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
there is a ton of debate over this...I worked with children with this. We say the children have special needs. I would also use mental disabilities but not mental retardation because of the sterotype associated with the word retarded.
2007-10-22 11:23:27 · answer #3 · answered by cmb5283 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Intellectually impaired. This is the most politically correct term, and is used to describe somebody (like George Bush) with an IQ of less than 70.
People with this level of intelligence find it difficult to cope with jobs requiring focus, attention to detail, initiative, and reasoning. They are usually to be found in unskilled manual jobs and in the White House.
2007-10-22 11:28:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Developmentally disabled. At least that's what they called it when I was a job coach for them ...
2007-10-22 11:34:21 · answer #5 · answered by Eagiusti 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you could always say mentally challenged, special, or just use the abbreviation they have M.D. (mental disorders)
2007-10-22 11:27:20 · answer #6 · answered by some dude 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Say, The Dudes cheese has slid off the cracker.
2007-10-22 11:26:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
the correct way is to have empathy and not give them tags or names to carry
we are individuals with different strenths and abilities part of being human
lets drop the tags or words for each difference in us
2007-10-22 11:26:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
You say: a person with special needs.
First and foremost, you have to say person. Then say special needs.
2007-10-22 11:23:33 · answer #9 · answered by Master C 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Who cares. Their retards. Litterally. They are slower then the average human. ie. Retarded.
I am sick of all the PC BS!!!!
2007-10-22 12:34:38 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋