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Question! Why are some people with disabilities called "special"?

My cousin is autisitc and her dad and some of my aunts and grandma called her "special". None of us are called that and we are non disabled. My grandma called my cousins out for being rude to her ,leaving her out saying, "She is special! How are you be so nasty to her. She is a very special person!"

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MaryJanine · 61-69, F

Your grandmother means well, but she somehow doesn't want to use the correct terminology - "disabled". It seems to mean you did something wrong. BUT - it happens. My very first niece was stillborn with the cord around her neck. My brother and his wife buried Melissa properly and often speak of her to this day - thirty-some years ago.

Don't let your grandmother upset you.Mine (Mom's mother) used to bulldoze her way into the usual conflicts mother and teenage daughters always have. She would say, "I wasn't allowed to talk to my mother like that!" and she hadn't been invited to the discussion.

Sarahsummersrockz · 18-21, F

It's kinder than saying disabled

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Sarahsummersrockz · 18-21, F

@LaurieKitKat94 No they are special

LaurieKitKat94 · 26-30, F

@Sarahsummersrockz Sorry im not getting this. So special needs people are "ABNORMAL" What if they wanted to be treated normal like everyone else?

Sarahsummersrockz · 18-21, F

@LaurieKitKat94 They wouldn't be called special if they understood what it meant

DrWatson · 70-79, M

I cannot speak for your grandmother, but some use the word as a shorthand for "having special needs."

Leonkuwataismyboyfriend · F

Oh god. I have autism and I don’t know why we’re called special.

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