There are labels around us all the time. There are labels on our food products, our makeup, our shampoo, type of shoes – you name it, there is a label for it.

There are also labels for people as we all know. People can be mentally challenged, they can have a physical disability, anxiety, depression, autism, mood disorders, skin conditions, cancer, multiple sclerosis, dementia, heart condition – there are just so many…… it never ends.

Everyone has an opinion on how they wish to be addressed in terms of their condition. It’s very individual in how a person wants to be referred. In my humble opinion, a person is more than their label and I feel that is so important to remember. It’s so easy to just refer to someone in terms of what they might have. For example, “Tom has cancer” or “Steve’s mother has dementia”.

In our family, we refer to our children as being on the autism spectrum. They don’t have autism, or they are not autistic as these words are describing them in a negative connotation. They don’t have a disease (unlike other people). They have struggles in certain areas which cause them to be part of a spectrum. And really, the only reason for the label is so that their needs can be understood. So they can get assistance in school or in other settings where it may be necessary to make accommodations or changes to meet their needs.

I dislike it when anyone refers to a person’s label first, and treats them like a person second. That should never happen. For example, I don’t say, “My son has autism and he can’t do…”. I say, “My son loves to take photographs and he is very artistic.” I may add on further information, depending on the situation, but he is an individual first. He has interests, feelings, things that he excels at and things that he struggles with. And yes, he is on the autism spectrum, which can create communication challenges.

I never look at either of our children as less than, or not being able to do something. I look at them and know that they both learn in unique ways, even different from each other. They are both intelligent human beings who have the ability to achieve anything. In fact, I am always encouraging them to pursue their interests, and maintain their happiness. I never want them to feel like they are not “normal” whatever that really means. If a teacher makes a comment to me about either of them, I calmly explain the way in which they learn and I ask them to think about this when they are teaching lessons. If I see work come home and I see that the approach is not the way my child is going to understand the concept, I contact the teacher and try to figure out a different way for them to break it down.

People may judge us in this world, but be rest assured that God NEVER judges us! He loves each and every one of us no matter what. We are all God’s children and we must remember that. We also must remember that God wants us to love everyone and show kindness, empathy and understanding, even if we really don’t understand a situation fully.

Mathew 7 says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

I hope we can all remember this and no matter if you think the same way as I do about labels or not, it doesn’t really matter. I think the important thing is to respect what an individual is comfortable with and realize that it is okay to ask them directly.

Shelly Wedge

Exceptional Families Coordinator