"special needs" is not an accepted term in the disability community. yet, it is used repeatedly to describe us in major pubs—and that& #39;s a big problem. to explain why, i pitched an op-ed to @nytimes. the response from multiple editors? "there& #39;s no place here for this."

and you know what? they& #39;re not wrong. here& #39;s one recent example: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/well/family/in-vitro-fertilization-mosaic-embryo.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/0...

and another: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/well/family/children-special-needs-pandemic.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/2...

...and another: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/well/family/coronavirus-shutdowns-children-special-needs-adhd-autism.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/1...

in fact, if you google "NYT & #39;special needs,& #39;" you can see how prolific the use of this term is. this says something to me: the country& #39;s most respected paper doesn& #39;t respect one in four americans. if it did, it would know better and work to do better.