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Tag Archives: people-first language
A kid first…AND it’s Down Syndrome Awareness Day
I know lots of mommas who don’t like sharing their kids’ disabilities with people because then some people will never look at their kids the same way after that disclosure. They will always view the child through disability-tinted glasses. Continue reading
The “R-word” has been banished…new criteria for intellectual disability
The most important change in the new criteria involves a decrease in the emphasis upon intelligence tests in the classification of intellectual disability in favor of a severity of impairment classification based upon adaptive functioning along with intelligence testing. Continue reading
Is “Special Needs” Acceptable People First Language?
I think there’s considerable risk that kids who become aware of being served through a “special needs ministry” would feel hurt and offended. I think there’s a minimal risk that parents who are currently outside the church might avoid involving kids in a “special needs ministry” because of assumptions their child would be treated differently. But why should the church run the risk of using language that might present an additional barrier to families of kids with disabilities connecting with their larger family in Christ through the local church? Continue reading
Communication Breakdown…Doing Ministry Together Without Diagnostic Labels
If we decide not to use a medical-based model as a common language around which to serve kids and families in churches, we need a common language for communication with one another that can be readily understood by every staff person and every volunteer at church. I’ll argue that it’s best to to use everyday language while guided by a set of communication principles. Continue reading
Church4EveryChild 