<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
No, this is not about labeling laws or labeling foods.  It's about labeling
people.  Lately I have noticed a number of posts to the list that include
labels.  Examples of labels are describing a list member as a patient, as a
celiac or as a lay-celiac.
 
Just what is labeling theory?  In brief, this is the application of an
impersonal term to a person (or group of people) who is receiving assistive
services from medical, mental health or social services providers.  The
application of a label allows the service provider to do two things...
 
First, the provider can erect an emotional 'wall', preventing an
involvement beyond the 'professional' level.
 
Second, the provider can use a label to paternalistically segregate the
person who is receiving the service. The provider becomes the source of
knowledge and of vital care while the person is relegated to a supplicant
status.
 
Within the rehabilitation community, we have fought to eradicate labeling.
People have disabilities, they are not the disability (e.g.; you would say
"I have schizophrenia, paraplegia, diabetes, etc", rather than "I am a
schizophrenic, paraplegic, diabetic, etc".) This extends to all decriptors
that refer to the disability or diagnosis as if it was a discriptor of the
person's identity.
 
It is the difference between saying "I have celiac sprue" and saying "I am
celiac sprue".
 
In my opinion, we who comprise this list are here to benefit from each
other's experiences, some subjective, some objective.  We are discerning
adults after all.  It makes little difference if we are the people who have
celiac as a problem to cope with, are parents or friends of someone who has
celiac sprue or are service providers in medicine, research or nutrition.
 
I think the celiac list could function more effectively as a resource for
those of us who have to live with the limitations celiac sprue places upon
us if we can exchange information and ideas in an open environment.
 
If you have a response to my post, and do not want to post it to the list,
feel free to email privately.
 
Gary Roberts <[log in to unmask]>
Boston, MA...Antique tools, Hong Kong cinema, Art Pottery...what else is
there?