Originally Posted by
DnvrFox
Individual(s) with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Emphasis on the "individiual," not the condition.
That other word is extremely offensive to almost everyone (parents/family, clients, professionals) now in the field and has been outlawed in all governmental usage.
I understand your sensitivity to language and in fact have been a proponent of the individual rather than the disability labeling for many years. However, I was using the term in the context of the era in which it was common. And, back in the day that's exactly what it was called. The word itself is accepted language and does not solely refer to people. You may have heard of timing in an engine being ********? FWIW, I am also not a proponent of editing the "N word" out of Mark Twain's works. It's about context.