by Gabriela Rosell
BA in Special Education - Early Stimulation Specialist
grosell@unsl.edu.ar
Many times, people find it difficult to speak about disabled persons because they are afraid of being offensive, or hurting their or their families’ feelings. Thus, they search for thousands of ways to “soften” some terms by means of euphemisms (little special people, people with different capacities, among others). The easy or convenient answer people tend to give when faced to this situation is “no matter which name comes into fashion; we always do the same thing”. Even when this is a much more complex issue, I will try to shed some light on it.
We all know that the names which have historically been used to refer to disability have eventually ended up being used as insults. Terms like idiot, imbecile, mentally handicapped, invalid (among others) were scientific names used in the past, which were created in a particular historical and functional context, typical of a historical period. However, they started being used for mockery or insult as time went by.
According to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989), we all have the right to a name. This name should not be replaced by any name referring to the person’s condition. This means that Cristina is not a CP (Cerebral Palsy); she is Cristina; Carlos is not a fragile X; he is Carlos; Esteban is not a GDD (General Develepment Disorder); he is Esteban; Anibal is not a Down (Down Syndrome); he is Anibal. In order to back this up, it is good to know that “Person with Disabilities” is the term used in national and international laws, scientific developments, and formal or academic settings. But what has really been decisive in the choice of this term is the fact that PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HAVE CHOSEN TO BE NAMED LIKE THIS. When? During the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Enforcing Protocol, at the UN General Assembly, on December 13th 2006. It was at that Convention, and considering the full participation principle that scholars, politicians, families, ONGs and governmental organisms discussed topics related to disability. “Nothing about us without us”, the slogan of the Convention, was acknowledged in Argentina by National Act No. 26.378- 2008. Then, if we speak about respect, we must learn to listen to what persons with disabilities have to tell us. We must respect, among other things, the way persons with disabilities want us to call them.
