My dear friend, a lovely, kind and caring father, has a daughter born with some challenges. She’s profoundly autistic, as I recall. Her path and potential are not the same as ours.

My friend talks with his doc often, as required, as in his area the care for his daughter is strong and consistent.

The doctor said, and says, that my friend’s wonderful little girl is removed in her intellectual development. That’s the word he uses. That’s the word my dear friend uses when he talks about his universe when she is sitting in his lap. There’s no malice there, and he says it as matter-of-factly as one would say “she has brown hair”.

My dear friend, who is a great guy in every respect - I’m a little jealous - heard this word from his doctor, and uses this word when relevant am And referring to his little girl whom he obviously loves with all his heart.

I’m not a great guy. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a social justice warrior. I am not going to invite wrath by volunteering such a word, as English is a language steered by vapid ticktock fame-whores and that word has been co-opted. It’s so fetch to reduce clarity in speech, so like, share and subscribe. But I’m not in a position or need to ‘correct’ what a doctor told a kind and caring person is the correct word to describe his beautiful child.

You be you.