People first Language

I hear far too often that Politically Correct language changes constantly, & they can't keep up w/it all. In reality People first & disability language has been the same for more than 15 years. It also shows no sign of changing, so it seems to me worth knowing. I learned it the first opportunity I had. I try to accept, & respect others to the best of my ability, no matter how often I must learn something new.

People first, means you refer to the person first ALWAYS! No matter what diagnosis they have, they are not their diagnosis. This is true even when the disease or disability take over a large part of the persons life. Just as a person with cancer, is not cancer. Even though they may be spending a large portion of their time dealing with treatments, & the effects of it. This is true of any diagnosis. A person remains a person, & deserves to be treated the same as anyone else!

The most important label is their name. If that is not appropriate to use, any other term referring to them as a person is appropriate.

Many people don't want to be labeled, in any way, whether it's an illness, disability, race, faith, or style, they still want to just be themselves. Personal preference as to what they choose to be called, & what they call their problem matters! It also is sometimes made an issue, when it doesn't need to be. There are many times people over use labels, telling everyone they meet, or in every introduction when it's really not always every ones business. Avoid using one at all, except when you have to do so for a reason.

Words for disabilities, & how they are used has been a big deal in the news lately.

For many of us, who have been trying to inform others for many years. These words cut like a knife! For me it's an insult to me & those I love. I will list below many terms, most are considered outdated at best, & offensive at worst to many.

Disability - means a lack of ability, & is the respectful word to use when talking about someones disabilities. In fact it is the only general word for a disability that is politically correct, & has been for close to 20 years.

Retarded - is a out of date medical diagnosis. Mental Retardation (MR) was used to describe a large group of people who were different physically, or later intellectually. Those people were not treated as people. They were thrown together, with little regard for age, sex, problem, race, religion...All that mattered is they were away from the rest of the world. They weren't treated as people, or taught at all. Basically it really was a word that described people less than human. This is why it bothers many of us. To make things worse, it is now a word people use to describe something stupid, or that they don't like. That has made it Derogatory, & with it's history, even a slur.

Handicapped -Thought to come from a combination of two things. One word is having a cap in the hand. In other words the beggar. The second was from a game in England. The one w/the cap being the looser. A bit like old maid, it's not what you want to end up w/or be called. It is also used now to refer to inanimate objects. A word that describes inanimate objects, isn't a word to describe a person w/problems, or person in general.

Disabled -Disabled means permanently broken, or turned off. Since a person themselves can't be turned off, that doesn't work. The other almost sounds possible, but although a body can be broken, the person can still work on therapeutic treatments to regain, or help problems, making them never permanently broken. It also is an acceptable word to use regarding inanimate objects.

idiot - This is one most don't understand, but it was the word before retarded, used to describe the people that were put away from the public, & treated far worse than animals. There are people alive who still have this diagnosis in their past, so for me, & a few others, it's unusable.

Moron - Another word w/the same idea as Retarded, but is less thought about.

The first thing about respect of course is to refer to someone else, as they want to be refereed as. I call friends & family what they want to be called, it seems only right to do the same for others. Calling someone the name they wish to be called, as long as it isn't offensive to others is something many people do w/people they know, but the same rings true for what they call their diagnosis, no matter what it is. Around others with the same diagnosis they may not like the persons choice, so it's good to keep in mind that even commonly used words that describe a person, or group of people, can be offensive to many others.

It makes a difference to treat others as people, not their problems. It is a key to happiness & acceptance, & shows them respect for who they are.

My Truth - preventative health care

Hopefully I don't loose a lot of friends posting this, but it is what I know. You don't have to agree, but it's me, & I guess it's just sad if someone can choose to dislike me because I state an opinion. I guess it would mean it's a very conditional relationship.
This isn't about Obama, although I find it very odd that talking bad about Bush was called treason, but many of the same people say horrible things about Obama. I hope those who do would have changed their opinion about someone not like Bush's choices. Really they are both Presidents, who have made choices that some people really liked, & some people really hated. It seems if you dislike one, you should be able to allow someone else to dislike the other even if you don't agree. That is really not the point of this, but maybe pointing out you don't have to like what I say...I agree that you have the right to say another opinion too. I am not saying this to offend, or defend, it's just my truth!
The health care plan as it is, is far from perfect, a lot of changes will need to be made. If you look at many past choices by the government, changes were made along the way. To many important choices throughout history.
People aren't seeing the whole picture...I am only talking about preventative care, not what is the plan, just what I have seen & know personally.
I am one of many who had a problem that could have been helped, but wasn't because my problems started just as I was too old for my mom's insurance. I then had preexisting conditions, & couldn't afford private insurance, & w/out needed medicine I wasn't able to maintain the hrs to be covered at work. I had been a workaholic before, & loved my work, I would give anything to have it all back! I continued to work less & less, but at the same job. My meds were too much to buy, & PCN didn't cover enough to help. W/generic meds alone I could’ve worked enough, & it would’ve prevented so much damage! W/out I got worse & worse, the Dr's tried to find any way they could to help, but it wasn't enough.
I’m now on disability, which I didn't want, but was forced to have. Most don’t know that to get Medicaid, it's a requirement(w/disabilities) to have SSI. I was able to work only a few hours, so I was being cared for by family. I’m unable to do much w/out help, & am struggling to type this. If I had been able to have the care I needed, I’d likely still be working, maybe full time? I’d have finished college which I had to quit because of my health. If I were able to work full time, I’d have insurance through work. I maybe would have needed more help in a decade or so, but I lost a lot not having the needed medical care.
I am costing the country more than I would have, had I had any preventative care! This is true of many people. Truly I had to wait until things were so bad that I had lost most I loved or wanted, before I could get help, & w/me, I won’t get that back. I will keep trying to find ways, but truly almost every wish, plan, goal, dream I had involved helping people. That is truly all I have ever wanted to do, & can only hope I find a way to do so now.
People may not like this, but if your child fell w/in the uninsurable range, as many do in this country, or became like me, you might feel different. I don’t want others who are now able to be helped to end up like me, simply because they can’t get help yet. I once did the math, the preventative meds, were such a small amount compared to what I need now. They could have saved so much, & I’m only 31, I could have been adding money through taxes & all, instead of being forced to have SSI & Medicaid to live. If problems are prevented it will save so much, & a lot of what people complain about is how Medicaid is. Anyone could have a problem tomorrow & be forced into Medicaid, where truly you are grateful for anything. Preventing may not be obvious, as saving our country money, but truly that alone…the savings would be staggering, let alone just saving peoples lives, maybe yours?
Well & I do believe every child should be covered, all kids should have what they need, where they are!
Just my opinion & something to think about.