I had an interesting conversation the other day with my sister-in-law, Ali. She is a “care-giver” in England and she is a regular reader of my blog. She asked, “Why do you always refer to yourself as ‘epileptic?’ You are not epileptic. You have seizures.”
I should point out that Ali has been trained by the English “ETTAD,” or European project to Enable Teachers and Trainers. Their website (1) states “Terminology is important, because words reflect our attitudes and beliefs.” It goes on to state that, “It is dehumanizing to talk of people in terms of a condition. Do not talk about a dyslexic or an epileptic – it is far preferable to say he has dyslexia/ she has epilepsy. (Ibid.)”
It’s a fair point, although, presumably, none of these people are actually living...
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