International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

The Basics of Disabilities Etiquette: The Awareness of People First Language (PFL) among Special Education Students in Prayagraj, India.

Recently, one of the important topics of discussion has been the importance of language to define and describe people with disabilities which has a direct impact on the personal and professional integration of the target population worldwide. A person is respected and recognised for who they are as a person first and foremost when they are addressed in "people-first language", which places their impairment in the background. What might be appropriate for one person may not be for another. This is the objective of this research paper to understand the awareness of People First Language among certain sections of academicians in the district of Prayagraj, India. By surveying special education students in the city of Prayagraj, this web based research further the discussion on the application of Person First Language (PFL) and Identity First Language (IFL). This adopted and modified study involved D. Ed., B. Ed. and M. Ed. special education students to collect information on familiarity levels and the use of person-first language. As part of this study, 141 special education students (D.Ed and B.Ed) responded to an online questionnaire designed to gauge their knowledge of person-first language. The survey contained of eight demographic/background and 17 fictional people with disabilities survey questions. However, the results reported in this simple analysis study shows that students have general and above average knowledge about peoples first language. Globally, research exploring cultural background and peoples first language is limited. Finally, suggestions for further investigation are proposed.