Learning Disabilities and Political Correctness

There are some groups and organizations like “Abilities,” a Canadian lifestyle magazine for disabled people, have provided some guidelines on the correct terminology to be used for the individuals with disabilities. Most of this information makes sense and is easy for a writer to implement, but sometimes individuals or organizations can go overboard in their demands for political correctness. There are several guiding principles that writers can use to determine which terminology will be acceptable to most people who have or deal with people with disabilities (Fallotz, 2009). Writers should take in concern of the various ethical considerations when writing about learning disabilities and the political correctness. When a writer is uneducated about learning disabilities, problems will arise. People who have a learning disability do not want to see writers or editors allowing bias language, logical fallacies, or too much of a person’s personal information in a document.

Writers and editors should be committed to obtaining the facts of unbiased opinions and accurately reporting information based on what he or she found. Writers and editors must avoid falsifying or misinterpreting any information. Language used in documents should demonstrate a critical, open minded approach (Fallotz, 2009). As a writer, a general practice for writing about people who have a learning disability, the writer should refer to the person first and then disability after. When uncertain, the writer can observe and listen to the language used by a person with disabilities, and take cues from what is said. Also, the writer can ask if teachers or persons with disabilities in the area are willing to share their preferences. If all else fails and the ...

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