This is of course related to this thread but also have been in school this morning with ds1 who has been called a retard and his brother (they both have ASD) a spaz.
I would never choose to use a word that offends a group or makes them out to be lesser humans (think racial hate, homophobic words etc)- it woudl be beneath me. So why is it still considered OK for people to use terms like this for disabled people? frequently the excuse is theya re emdical terms but I am in a field that uses medical terminology for disabled people and we constantly review our language usage and minimise use of terms now regarded inappropriate.
Surely a word that offends a group of people who made noa ctive choice about their characteristic is wrong regardless of excuse?
Am fuming for ds1 but at least he is able to fight back and school took seriously. DS3 is not able to fight for himself and should not have to live with bigotry. DS1 is actively campaigning for a racial awareness campaign at school (he is Chair of School Council) after talking with some friends about the racial abuse they have encountered: am thining it needs to be about all hate langauge not one distinct group.