Terms that Are Offensive to Relatives of Special-Needs Children

Relatives of special-needs children will face stares from complete strangers, the ignorance of society and even endure terms intended to label their special-needs relative that are offensive. Read on to learn more about the terms that offend relatives of special-needs children.

Mental Retardation/ Retarded/ Retardation

In the 1970s, the terms mental retardation, retard and retarded were regularly used by the medical profession to distinguish the difference between babies who were born with special needs and those who were not. Back then, these terms were not intended to offend relatives of special-needs children. They were simply terms used in the usual diagnosis of children born with special needs, lumping many under this umbrella term. Fast forward to the 2000s and there is now a huge difference in using these terms to refer to children born with special needs. These are not only antiquated terms; they are also considered by many relatives of special-needs children to be very rude and highly inappropriate, as there is no positive way to interpret these terms. In many countries, such as the UK, these are considered taboo words that insult the individual.

Mentally Challenged

Many use this term for want of a better term thinking that it is not as "bad" as mental retardation, retard or retarded. While it does not carry the same degree of insult, this is also an inappropriate term to use when referring to children born with special needs. A person can be mentally challenged when facing a difficult crossword puzzle. But it does not accurately describe children with special needs.

Mongol/ Mongolism

This is a term that used to be commonly used to refer to children born with Down's Syndrome. It reinforces the stereotype that Down's Syndrome children have the facial characteristics of people from Mongolia. But even though this term is not used as much as it used to be, some elderly people still use this term, which is considered very insulting.