People First

Those that know me know that one of my pet hates is the way a person with a disability can be so poorly described by (most of) the media.

Here's a classic case in point, from a New Zealand TV Program. It's a great, hopeful story(for the most part). So it makes me wonder WHY did the headline have to read "Cerebral palsy patient gains, then loses, her voice". What's wrong with saying "Girl with cerebral palsy gains, then loses, her voice"? The girl in question was not ill, so she's not a patient. She's a GIRL.

People with disabilities are PEOPLE first. All with individual abilities, interests and needs. There's no need to stereotype anyone into being a condition that they may have - the CP boy, the autistic girl, the mentally ill man. Instead, the boy with CP, the girl with autism, the man with a mental illness.

This is called People First language. Sounds like common sense to me.