How To Properly Communicate About Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities

By Daphne Bowen


Words can influence a man immensely. Like all people, individuals with intellectual disabilities, can likewise be harmed and influenced by the way we discuss them. More often than not however, we are inconsiderate on how we address themes that are new to us.

To make this clearer, mental illness is different from intellectual disability. If one has not too good scholarly capacity coupled with impedance to adjust to their surroundings, then it is said that that person has intellectual disability. Some of the reasons attributed to such conditions might include hindered development from infancy or brain damage. Mental health issues occurs usually during pre-adulthood, particularly during challenging moments of one's life. It is possible for individuals with mental challenges to have excellent academic records and may even lead a simple life.

Education is key to be able to talk about intellectually challenged individuals. If you genuinely want to protect and uplift the morale of this challenged group, there are many ways. This article is not just for journalists but for anyone who has access to social media or who can have a conversation with others. Read: Everyone. Here are some pointers, collated by various organizations, on how to properly talk about persons with intellectual disability.

When talking or writing about them, avoid using the words: "retarded, mentally ill, abnormal, insane" or any other term that is synonymous to these. Once a person is labeled retarded, he is misconstrued to be a nuisance and a burden. This isn't the case as many people with intellectual disabilities, look after themselves and strive hard to be good in school.

Grown-ups and youngsters with scholarly incapacities are not the same. They are still in different wavelength and must be dealt with accordingly. At the point when a columnist is composing an article around a mentally challenged grown-up, he must utilize the full name of the individual, for example, John Doe rather than simply John.

It is not good to see or portray the life of these persons in an overly dramatic fashion, full of suffering, especially from the family's perspective, and melancholic. This must be avoided at all cost as a lot of those families do not live in such a manner. All the necessary support is received from such families in order to ensure the child has that positive relationship their caretakers and families.

Only a small percentage of people in your community knows a family with an intellectually challenged person or even the person himself. Writers and social media users have the responsibility to enlighten people and portray these individuals participating in every facet of life - at home, at work, simply being part of the crowd. Placing them or associating them with hospitals does not help improving their image.

Try as much as possible not to use words or phrase that will weaken their spirits during write-ups. This is due to the fact that intellectual challenge is no sickness. Also, the negative connotation that comes along with it is just the way outsiders see them and not the way they see themselves.

All these pointer may be exceptionally restricting yet everybody is urged to speak and expound on mentally challenged individuals more. Presently, they have a tendency to reflect how society picks them to be - ignored. Keeping in mind the end goal to lift them up and to energize them more, it is ideal to speak and expound on them in a positive manner.




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