Intellectual Disabilities/Learning Disabilities/Learning Difficulties/Learning Impairments?
Which of the above statements/descriptions is the preferred one by the actual people who have this impairment/medical condition?
This recent discussion has held my attention because I have been trying to find out the answer for the past fortnight following a heated debate with my sister! Let me give you a little background information.
I am a disabled person, my impairment is four limbed phocomelia caused by the drug thalidomide. I am a Disability Equality Trainer (UK), who for the past eight years has encouraged participants on my courses to use the term learning difficulties or indeed learning impairments in concurrence with the social model. Participants generally accept that the social model includes people with learning difficulties, as indeed it also includes people with mental health issues, those with hidden impairments (i.e. asthma, epilepsy, dyslexia) and those with obvious impairments like my own.
My sister works with, what she calls people with "learning disabilities". She is adamant that this is the preferred term by people with these impairments!
Always keen to keep up-to-date I have been speaking with a number of organisations -- People First and People In Partnership (both UK) are advocacy groups for people with learning difficulties. However to confuse matters more they give different versions from region to region! Some use 'learning difficulties' others use 'learning disabilities'. This discrepancy may be as a result of some advocacy groups doing exactly that -- advocating, whilst other advocacy groups -- control. But that is another debate!
What I would like to know if anyone out there has the answer -- "what is the correct and up-to-date term?" And is there any written evidence to back it up?
Grateful thanks -- Rosie.
Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds BSc (Hons)
RMS - Disability Issues Consultancy
e-mail (1) [log in to unmask]
e-mail (2) [log in to unmask]
web site www.rms-cons.demon.co.uk
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