Like many other marginalized and stigmatized communities, people with disabilities in general and people with IDD in particular have often been referred to using problematic terminology. The language we use matters.
The best practice is to default to the preference of the self-advocates from the respective disability communities and more specifically to the preference of the individual when possible.
Person-First Language
Person-first language emerged to focus on an individual’s personhood, rather than on their disability.
I.e., ‘a person with Down syndrome’ as opposed to ‘a Downs person'.
I.e., ‘a person with Down syndrome’ as opposed to ‘a Downs person'.
Person First Language
Identity-First Language
Through, identity-first language, a person embraces their disability as part of their identity. Many people from the Deaf and autism communities have embraced identity-first language.
Conversations with Ivanova: People First and Identity First Language