I think, at this point, however, it is worth including that "people first language" is often the preferred approach of disabled people (or people with disabilities) in the United States - in much the same way that social model terminology is preferred here; both are the preferred self-identifiers of disabled people/PWD, and there isn't a "better" one.
I'd suggest that, with the language rooted in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it is both medically-based and socially-based; it is a linguistic difference in much the same way as American English vs British English gives us elevator/lift, faucet/tap, and eraser/rubber. I'd imagine that, if Alexander's mother were here, she'd refer to her son as a "disabled person", and there would be a great deal of protest from American disability rights campaigners telling her she's wrong to do so.
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