People First Language insisits that we recognize the individual before the disability. Instead of saying "My Down syndrome neighbor" or " My CP (cerebral palsy) student" we would say "My neighbor who has Down syndrome" or "My student with cerebral palsy". There is nothing worse than when someone refers to my son as a Down's child. Yuk! You may even decide to leave the label out all together. People with disabilities have many abilities that make them more like you and me than not so we should recognize them for what they have to offer our world.
Thanks for the inquiry!
T. Moran
