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- How will we approach language in this review?
How will we approach language in this review?
This repeats paragraphs 19 to 22 of the Summary
The language we use in this review is important. Some words are understood differently by different people. There are also differing views about preferred language, and these views can change over time.
We need to decide on some consistent terms so our documents are clear. We know that people will have a range of views about what words we use and we want to know your thoughts.
When engaging with people individually we will seek to use their preferred language. Sometimes this may be different to the language we use in our written work.
Some important terms we propose using in our documents are:
- Disabled person (rather than person with a disability).
- Learning disability (rather than intellectual disability or cognitive impairment).
- Tāngata whaikaha Māori (for Māori disabled people).
- Person experiencing mental distress (rather than person with mental health needs, mental illness, or mental disorder).
- Personal lived experience (for adults who have personal experience of having affected decision-making).
- Lived experience as family, whānau member, friend or carer (for people who are a family or whānau member, friend or carer of someone who has personal experience of affected decision-making).