He was quite prolific into describing the mental characteristics/ deficiencies of the races. You might remember that Trisomy 21 patients were called "mongoloids" in the past. That was because Dr. Down thought they looked Asian and that Asians were mentally deficient! Yeah. Basically he gets credit for the syndrome because he described the features, but his life's work was spent codifying how Caucasians were the smartest and best race and all the others were inferior. Personally, I hate when they name syndromes/ diseases for people. It's much better when it's called by the proper name.

Thank you for making the effort. PARA ...I have a retarded son. Yes, he's "intellectually challenged" and "special" and "exceptional" -- because he's moderately mentally retarded (medical description, meaning slower than others). But he is not "a retard". PARA ...My feelings on the use of the word are more nuanced that are generally seen in today's discourse, but involve a recognition that the use of the pejorative, particularly in public, is hurtful. I've literally been chastised because I've said "My son is retarded." -- by people who do not understand the differentiation. And I understand there are some who are challenged/slow/special/exceptional who would even change the medical terminology if they could, because they don't like it.... PARA ... Not that any of this excuses the use of the word as a deliberate insult. Or any other word as a deliberate insult, in polite society. But freedom of speech means people can say just about anything, and our societal notion of acceptable is to be the determiner. PARA ... So one has to separate person/persona in order to live up to our oaths. I don't see any other way, though maybe others do.

thanks for this! As a kid I volunteered with my church's SPREAD group- which is basically Sunday School for people with Special Needs. One of the older volunteers always referred to those with Trisomy 21 as "mongoloids" and I never understood why.

You have to remember this is back in the day when the average person did not have as much faculty with medical terms (including "penis" or "vagina") as they do today. He sounds like an asshole, true, but we all know what the disease is when we hear the name. "Trisomy 21" will take a few more years to come to the mind as easily.

Meh.. this rates about as highly as Rob Schneider's apparent Romney endorsement. The first mistake anyone made in this thread was caring what Anne Coulter has to say on any subject whatsoever. Why is she even famous? Usually there is some combination of intellect, talent and good looks at play. Seeing as she has none of those things working for her and that her entire persona is based on writing partisan flame bait, why give what she says, hurtful or not, one thought?

Our poor sisters at Cornell then....

Oh, I agree. We have to start somewhere. At least mongoloids isn't common terminology anymore. There is a push in medicine to stop the use of eponyms.

I think this will be a harder one to get rid of. As I understand it, there are several Trisomy versions, right? So trying to remember that 21 is the one that was previously known as Down's and that 13 is Patau (sp?) etc... is going to be too hard for the general public. They're going to need a different name to define them.

I'm not sure it will. Afterall, I now hear "Lou Gerig's Disease" called "ALS" much more often (ignoring the fact that Lou Gerig might not have had ALS to begin with). I think the more people hear "Trisomy 21" the more they will use it, and eventually "Down's Syndrome" will fade away.

Trisomy 21 is by far more common than Trisomies 13 and 18 which are also not compatible with life and not in the public lexicon, so this is not a problem. There is no need for anyone but physicians and those effected to know what Edwards (18) and Patau (13) entail or what their names are.

Your post also shows the confusion with eponyms. ALS is also called Lou Gerig's Disease because he had the affliction, whereas Down Syndrome is not Down's Syndrome because Dr. Down did not have Trisomy 21. Even physicians get this wrong since my husband and I had this argument a couple months ago and he had to admit defeat. :D

But ALS is an simple acronymn, easy to remember with no unfamiliar medical-sounding words in it. Trisomy 21 sounds very clinical at best, especially since most people probably have no idea what either trisomy or 21 (in this context) mean. I, too, would be surprised if it caught on easily.

I guess my question would be what those with Down Syndrome/Trisomy 21 and their families prefer it be called. They'd get the deciding vote in my book.

Right? I don't follow her but her statement about the President actually seemed mild compared to what she's said in the past.

I also don't see any reason for Palin to speak out publicly against Couter on this since she isn't involved and there may be a good chance she's not even aware of the comment. I'm a political news junkie and this is the first I've heard of this Coulter comment.

Coulter was on Piers Morgan talking about it last night. I changed the channel. Quickly.

Over time, medical terminology sometimes trumps patient wishes. It may not change quickly but it should.