Why have the words changed?
The words used to describe people with intellectual disabilities have changed over time.
Some words that were once used by doctors, teachers, institutions and the law are now considered offensive.
This is because language can affect how people are treated.
Today, the respectful term is usually:
Intellectual disability
In the UK, the term learning disability is also commonly used to mean intellectual disability.
A Historical Timeline
🕰️ Before the 1900s
Words such as “idiot” and “imbecile” were used in medical, legal and everyday language.
These words did not always have the same meaning that they have today.
Over time, they became increasingly associated with people who were considered to have intellectual impairments.
These words are now offensive when used to describe a person with an intellectual disability.
🧠 Feeble-minded
In North America, “feeble-minded” became a widely used term during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
It was used as a broad classification for people thought to have intellectual or developmental impairments.
As intelligence testing became more common, some professionals divided “feeble-mindedness” into different historical categories.
These included:
Moron
Imbecile
Idiot
The categories were associated with different levels of intellectual functioning.
However, they should not be treated as exact equivalents of modern diagnoses, because the definitions and assessment systems were different from those used today.
📊 Moron, Imbecile and Idiot
Moron
“Moron” was introduced as a psychological classification in the early 1900s.
It was used for people who were considered to have a higher level of intellectual ability within this historical classification system.
The term later became a common insult.
It is not an appropriate modern medical term.
Imbecile
“Imbecile” was another historical classification.
It was used for people considered to have a greater degree of intellectual impairment than those classified as “morons.”
The meaning was not exactly the same everywhere.
The word later became a common insult.
It is now outdated and offensive.
Idiot
“Idiot” was historically used as a classification for people considered to have the most significant intellectual impairments.
The meaning changed over time.
Today, “idiot” is an insult and is not an appropriate term for a person with an intellectual disability.
🏥 Mental Deficiency and Mental Defective
By the middle of the 20th century, terminology began to change.
Terms such as:
Mental deficiency
Mental defective
were used in an attempt to replace some of the older terminology.
However, these terms still described people as being “deficient” or “defective.”
This reflected an older way of thinking about disability.
People were often viewed according to what they were thought to lack, rather than the support they might need or the abilities they had.
🔄 Mental Retardation
The way professionals understood intellectual disability continued to change.
The focus moved towards the idea of developmental rate.
Some people with intellectual impairments were described as being “slow” or having delayed development.
The term “mental retardation” eventually became an accepted medical, educational and legal term.
It was used for many years during the 20th century.
However, the word “retarded” later became widely used as an insult.
This contributed to another change in terminology.
⚠️ Other Historical Terms
Many other words and classifications existed.
Cretin
“Cretin” was once a medical term associated particularly with severe physical and intellectual impairment caused by conditions such as untreated congenital hypothyroidism.
It later became a derogatory word.
It should not be used to describe a person today.
Amentia
Amentia was a historical medical term.
It was sometimes used when doctors were trying to distinguish intellectual or cognitive difficulties that were thought to have been present from birth from conditions that developed later.
Medical understanding has changed considerably since then.
Moral imbecile
“Moral imbecile” was a particularly harmful historical classification.
It was used to describe people who were considered to have poor behaviour, morality or social judgement.
The concept was extremely subjective.
People could be labelled for not conforming to the social expectations of the time.
Such classifications were sometimes connected with institutionalisation and eugenic policies.
This is an important example of how labels could be used to discriminate against people.
👥 The “Defective” Class
Historically, people with different disabilities and health conditions were sometimes placed into broad groups.
These could include:
People with intellectual disabilities
Deaf people
Blind people
People with epilepsy
People with mental health conditions
People with other disabilities
They could be described using terms such as “defective” or “mental defective.”
These classifications did not reflect the way we understand disability today.
They often grouped very different people together.
✅ Intellectual Disability
Today, intellectual disability is the preferred term in the United States and many other places.
It recognises that a person may have difficulties with:
Intellectual functioning
Learning
Problem-solving
Everyday adaptive skills
But a diagnosis does not define the whole person.
A person is not their diagnosis.
For example:
❌ “She is an intellectual disability.”
Better:
✅ “She has an intellectual disability.”
Or:
✅ “She is a person with an intellectual disability.”
🇬🇧 UK Terminology
There is an important difference between the UK and the United States.
In the United Kingdom, the term learning disability is commonly used for what is called intellectual disability in the United States.
In the United States, “learning disability” usually means a specific difficulty with learning, such as:
Dyslexia
Dyscalculia
Dysgraphia
Therefore, it is important to consider which country is using the terminology.
❤️ Why Language Matters
The history of disability terminology shows us that words can have a powerful effect.
A word may begin as a medical classification.
Over time, it may become a label.
Later, it may become an insult.
Changing a word does not automatically remove discrimination.
We also need to change:
Attitudes
Policies
Services
Education
Accessibility
Opportunities
The way people with disabilities are treated
Most importantly:
People are more than their diagnosis or disability.
We should use respectful language and, whenever possible, listen to how people describe themselves.
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