jgh:

Alice says that “developmental disability” is the appropriate term, whereas “mentally challenged” is insulting. Noted! My apologies to any/all offended.

…..from the “I really am an insensitive jerk” file:

To me, this is another example of “political correctness” run amok.  Now, I don’t mean any disrespect by asking this question, but it’s going to come off that way anyway, so here goes:

How do we know that “mentally challened” is insulting?

Seriously.  The only ones who would be insulted by the use of the term are those who are actually mentally challenged, right?  And if they are mentally challenged, are they competent to make the decision with respect to what constitutes an “insult” and what is “acceptable?”  I have worked with or dealt with the developmentally disabled/mentally challenged/mentally retarded (all acceptable terms over the years) during my life time and not a single one of them has ever struck me as being mentally capable of differentiating between an “insulting” descriptive terms and an “acceptable” descriptive term (unless it’s a phrase like “you f***ing retard” hollered at them in an angry tone.)

It is those self-appointed guardians of “right” from “wrong” that have determined that “mentally challenged” is no longer acceptable (even though it was the “term du jour” for many years after “mentally retarded” was first deemed inappropriate).

What’s more, the verb “retard” means to “delay the development or progress of.”  The phrase “mentally retarded” simply describes the phenomenon of having the development of one’s mental processes delayed or retarded.  And, as everyone should know, there is a world of difference between the phrase “mentally retarded” and the word “retard” as used in the perjorative sense.  Yet “mentally retarded” was discarded in favor of “mentally challenged,” which has now fallen into disfavor.

The fact is that each of the phrases means the same thing.  Preference for one over the other, especially in this context, is purely the preference of the self-appointed watchdogs of our community — the politically correct police.

The thing is, if we just treat every individual as a person, and deal with each person on an individual basis, rather than thrashing about for an “acceptable” label for the group into which society wishes to place “all” people with similar characteristics, we wouldn’t have to worry about insulting anyone.  Some folks are more physically or mentally able than others, regardless of their IQ’s or their level of mental or physical disability.  Don’t label those folks; just deal with him or her in a respectful way that addresses their particular needs and you won’t have any problems.