Duplicate Keywords - List #34 (Proposals for Permanent Merger and Auto-Conversion) (physical disability keywords)

@bradley_kent said:

"physically-challenged" is most politically correct.

I respectfully disagree, and I am basing my opinion on the guides I have consulted and linked to in this post. 

Here is what I said a while back on the earlier thread:

The word "challenged" should not be used in this context.

ADA National Network: Guidelines for Writing About People With Disabilities

Terms like differently-abled, challenged, handi-capable or special are often considered condescending. 

@bradley_kent​ said:

any variations of "disability" or "handicap" are also no-nos.

There is nothing wrong with the word "disability." It is a preferred word, according to the guides I have referenced in my post.

What matters is how the word is used. Instead of referring to someone as a "disabled person," the person should be referred to as a "person with a disability." And it is fine to use the word "disability" to refer to their disability.

ADA National Network: Guidelines for Writing About People With Disabilities

National Disability Authority:  Appropriate Terms to Use

In general, the guides say that we should "refer to the person first and the disability second":

People with disabilities are, first and foremost, people.  Labeling a person equates the person with a condition and can be disrespectful and dehumanizing. A person isn’t a disability, condition or diagnosis; a person has a disability, condition or diagnosis. This is called Person-First Language.

@bradley_kent​ 

And, when it comes to questions of mental health, "mentally-challenged" wold be the most politically correct.

I also disagree with this proposition. As with "physically challenged," "mentally challenged" is very condescending -- almost as condescending as "slow." 

Besides, "mentally challenged" is vague. Is it referring to a mental illness, a mental disability, a learning disability, or an intellectual disability? 

If by "mentally challenged" you mean what some people would say "mentally retarded," the preferred term nowadays is "intellectual disability." All of the "intellectual disability" keywords will be the subject of a future proposal for keyword cleanups.

@bradley_kent​ 

Finally, one additional problem with the keyword "physically-challenged" is that it is too close to the keyword "physical-challenge."

physical-challenge (10 titles)

physically-challenged (14 titles)

On the surface, either of these keywords could refer to a character confronting a physical challenge that has nothing to do with a physical disability, like a stamina or endurance test. 

But again, the major problem with referring to people with disabilities as being "challenged" is that this language is frequently regarded as offensive and demeaning.

@bradley_kent​

I should also point out another inherent problem with the "mentally-challenged" keyword (other than the fact that is often perceived as demeaning and offensive) is that some contributors use it to indicate someone who may have a low I.Q. but is not necessarily intellectually disabled (what has often historically been called mentally retarded). 

For example, one top contributor likes to add the idiosyncratic keyword "mentally-challenged-sidekick," when what he probably means is "bumbling-sidekick."

Other contributors apparently use "mentally-challenged" when what they really mean is a learning disability, like dyslexia.

Still others use "mentally-challenged" for developmental disabilities that aren't necessarily intellectual disabilities, like autism.

Thus, the keyword "mentally-challenged" is facially vague, because it has many distinct potential meanings:

(1) an intellectual disability (e.g., Down syndrome),

(2) a developmental disability (e.g., autism),

(3) a learning disability (e.g., dyslexia),

(4) a mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder),

(5) someone with a below average I.Q., 

(6) someone who is temporarily impaired, for example someone whose drink is drugged without their knowledge, thus "challenging" their mental faculties, and

(7) a mental disability that does not fit into any of the other categories, like post-traumatic stress disorder. 

I believe most uses of "mentally-challenged" on IMDb fit into category #1 (especially when "mentally-challenged" is used as a prefix, like "mentally-challenged-man"). With that said, I believe the specific keyword "mentally-challenged" itself has sometimes been used for each of the other categories (or at the very least, categories 1 through 5).

It is a similar story with the former keyword "mentally-impaired" (which no longer exists after some auditing). The keyword "mentally-impaired" is facially vague.  A very drunk person is "mentally impaired," -- at least, temporarily. And so are people with permanent mental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and mental illnesses.

Just like the keyword "mentally-impaired," the keyword "mentally-challenged" should be audited and phased out of use.