21- FOXcast PT: Words Matter

Welcome to FOXcast PT, a podcast for clinicians made by clinicians. It’s brought to you by FOX Rehabilitation. Find out more at foxrehab.org.

Hi, welcome to this episode of FOXcast. I’m your host, physical therapist Dr. Jimmy McKay.

Recently, we went out on the road for some FOX tours and met up with clinicians across the country. We talked to physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and exercise physiologists who all happened to work with… Well, I’m not really sure what to call them.

That’s the purpose of this episode: the words that we use when we refer to the people that we get to work with.

Here’s a sample of what our clinicians said when I asked them about words like elderly, senior citizens, or older adults when used to describe the people that we get to work with here at Fox.

I’m going to throw a word out and you tell me whether you like how that word describes the people that you work with or you don’t like it: elderly.

I don’t like it doesn’t is not a good descriptive word kind of narrowed it into one word which one word doesn’t really describe this group of people.

Good point: It feels like a can’t word to me.

I try to stay away from like elderly senior citizen and I just feel like they’re outdated. They kind of have a little bit of a negative connotation to it and I want to be respectful.

Think about your elderly grandparents or think about how you start a sentence when you when you start talking about someone as elderly. What follows? “That my elderly grandparent had a fall. My elderly grandparent or mother or father can’t get to the store anymore. My elderly grandparent can’t socialize the way they used to.” That’s the word that comes to my mind.

How about seniors?

I am seeing this gentleman is full of so many wonderful things He’s 96 said to me. Jamie I may be getting older but I’m not getting old and I thought that is going to be my thing when people give me, lets go up and go out and walk. Let’s go let’s try some balance exercises. I don’t want to do it today. I’m 92 years old and I’ll tell them that’s just the number and now I have it quote to go with it. You can get older but you don’t have to get old.

Older adult, how do you feel about that phrase.

An older adult is simply someone who has incredible life experience. An adult is someone who likely functions optimally it’s someone who can do the things they want to do. It’s someone who can shop, carry a six pound package navigate get up and down curbs, play canasta with their friends. That’s the thing that they can do.

I use older adults. They Just happen to be a little older. They’ve been here a little longer. The individuals we work with right now arethe greatest generation. With some of the stories you hear from them.

I think that’s a little more respectful when you add a adult to that older adult a little more dignified.

So I try to refer to them as older adults but I think it’s it’s hard to break the habit. The lingos and terms that we used before.

Jimmy: Thanks for listening to this episode of FOXcast. The words we use matter. Especially when they refer to the great human beings we have the privilege of working with. We’d love to hear from you. What words do you use when you work with your clients? Reach out on social media. @FOX Rehab on Twitter Facebook and Instagram. And let us know. Words matter. I’m your host physical therapist Dr. Jimmy McKay. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening to FOXcast PT. A clinically excellent podcast. It’s brought to you by FOX Rehabilitation. Listen to other episodes or read articles and position papers at foxrehab.org.