Here are a few proper, unoffensive ways to refer to persons with disabilities

At the Bikers Breakfast Ride event at Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal on Sunday, National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) gave a Person With Disabilities (PWD) sensitivity training to both non-disabled and PWDs.

In the sensitivity discussion, Virgie Rabino of NCDA tackled which terms are offensive to PWDs and what are the alternatives people can use to address PWDs.

Here's a list of alternative words or phrases NCDA encourages everyone to use instead of using derogatory, offensive and inaccurate terms:

• She's not disabled or cripple. She's a person with disability.
• He's not mentally retarded, defective, feeble minded, imbecile, moron, or retarded. He's a person with intellectual disability.
• He's not a mongoloid. He's a person who has down syndrome.
• She's not autistic. She's a person with autism.
• She's not "confined to a wheelchair" or handicapped. She's a wheelchair user.
• He's not mad or crazy. He's a person with mental health disability.

Rabino said people should always use the "person first" language, explaining that the word "person" should always come first before their disability.

"Kasi sa 'person with' tinignan mo siya bilang tao. Unlike sa 'disabled person,' anong naunang word? Disabled, so nauna mong tinignan 'yong kapansanan niya kaysa 'yong pagiging tao niya," Rabino explained. — LA, GMA News