Disabled deserve respect when addressed.

• Position: Your Life

Language and words matter and people should know and utilize the most inclusive and respectful language available for those with disabilities, emphasizes Jennifer Mizrahi of Respect-Ability USA, Bethesda, Md., a nonprofit organization that is working to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve the American Dream.

"How do you call a child with a disability? Of course, your first choice should always be his or her name. It never should be 'disabled child; 'retarded kid; 'Downs child; or 'special needs kid.' Likewise, programs that serve these populations should not be called 'special needs programs.'

"Additionally, to the greatest extent possible, these children should not be denied access to programs based on their disabilities, nor should they be segregated. They should be included, welcomed, and integrated with 'typical' children.

"What we say influences how we think," adds Mizrahi, "and what we think influences how we behave. When we use person-first language, we send a simple, but important message: people with disabilities are people first; they just happen to have a disability. It's a powerful mindset shift and that makes a difference."

Mizrahi provides the following guidelines to using person-first language:

* "Use 'person with a disability.' The abbreviation is PWD. There are two exceptions: 'blind people' and 'deaf people' sometimes choose to use the old language for the same reason that the NAACP hasn't changed its name."

* Phrases like "wheelchair-bound" and "confined to a wheelchair" are not...