No matter what kind of special needs your Buddy may have, she or he is a person first. In Best Buddies, we use “People First” language to convey the idea that a person is not defined by their disability, but rather is a person who has a disability.

You wouldn’t describe a person with a broken leg as a “broken-legged person”. In the same way, using people first language, you would not describe a person with an intellectual disability as a “disabled” person. It is more respectful to describe the person as “a person with a disability”.