Link October 2018 Volume 27 Issue 5 | Page 29

opinion The language of disability From ‘demented’ to ‘person with dementia’: Emeritus Professor Roland Sussex from the University of Queensland looks at how and why the language of disability has changed. I n the second half of the 20th century, we came to accept that in certain cases we should avoid deliberately hurtful language. While many deride political correctness for going too far, its initial aim to establish non-hateful language was, and still is, admirable. In the early 20th century, ‘moron’ of whose features were supposed was a medical term for someone with to resemble those with Down a mental age of between eight and syndrome. ‘Retarded’ described 12. ‘Mongol’ was a person with Down someone mentally, socially or syndrome, and also was indirectly a physically less advanced than their slur on people from Mongolia, some chronological age. PRESENTS FEATURING AND MORE FERRIS WHEEL | JUMPING CASTLE | OBSTACLE ALLEY | CHILL OUT ZONE | SILENT DISCO | PHOTO BOOTH | MARKET BAZAAR | FACE PAINTING | TATTOOS | CRAZY HAIR | ELEVATED VIEWING PLATFORM | FOOD VENDORS AT GROUND LEVEL | AUSLAN INTERPRETERS | HI-VIS SIGNAGE | GUIDE & ASSISTED DOG FRIENDLY AREAS | HELPFUL VOLUNTEERS linkonline.com.au opinion 29