Respect persons with intellectual disability
The mental health organisation shared useful tips on how to communicate with persons who have intellectual disabilities.
Little Eden Society was recognised as one of the organisations that do great work in the field of mental disabilities at the Society’s CEO Wheelchair Campaign launch on March 2.
Leon de Beer, deputy director of SA Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH), took up the challenge at the launch and was on his wheelchair.
“SAFMH’s theme this March is ‘I am able, not a label’.
They aim to teach people how to treat persons with intellectual disability with respect and not use derogatory names.
The mental health organisation shared useful tips on how to communicate with persons who have intellectual disabilities.
1. Use language that is respectful, caring, kind and that communicates that the person with an intellectual disability (ID) is valued.
2. Be appropriate to age and culture. For example, when meeting an older adult with ID, say ‘I am pleased to meet you, Mr X.
‘May I call you Henry?’ Do not assume you can just call them Henry because they have ID.
3. Use language that is preferred by the person with ID. The People First self-advocacy organisation prefer to say people with ID experience ‘learning difficulties’ not ‘learning disability’.
4. Discuss issues in the same way that you would when talking to someone who does not have ID.
5. Treat every person as a person first, with the understanding that using diagnostic labels is required only rarely and only in highly specific situations.
Sources: Athens E, Crocker C, Dusome D, Melrose S, and Simpson J (2015). Supporting Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Illness: What Caregivers Need to Know
