What's in a Nickname?

During our recent hospital stay, I was having a conversation with a nurse on the medical unit where Josiah was being treated.  She was a wonderful nurse & Josiah liked her very much, as did I.  We were chuckling over Josiah's hair (it's wispy and tends to stick straight up - much like a mohawk).  She was commenting that a lot of children with Down Syndrome seem to sport a similar hairdo.  During this conversation, she admitted that the staff tends to call these kids "Doodles."  At face value, I thought 'that's kind of cute.'  Perhaps I should have left it at that.

When I returned home, I thought of that nickname and decided to look up the word "doodle."  I know it means to scribble, etc.  However, I wanted to research the word further.  Here's what I found:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/doodle defines the noun as being "A figure, design, or scribble drawn or written absent-mindedly.  The informal noun means "fool or simpleton" from the German dudeltopf.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodle defines the etymology as this: "The word doodle first appeared in the early 17th century to mean a fool or simpleton."

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doodle defines the noun as "a minor work."

Perhaps, their nickname for DS kids is innocent.  This nurse readily admitted she knew not why they called the kids 'doodles.'  Perhaps the nickname has been used for decades and the newer/younger nurses have never made the effort to determine it's meaning or origin.

I'm not usually a person that focuses on "political correctness" and the like.  I certainly don't care what nicknames people use.

However, I think this is much different.  Here we have professionals using a nickname to define our children.  If the professionals use such a nickname, doesn't it merely fuel the fires of the ignorant?  90% of all DS pregnancies (that receive an early pre-natal diagnosis) result in abortion.  I firmly believe in a woman's right to choose.  However, if some of these abortions occur due to ignorance and misperception, isn't it possible that the professionals (whether they mean to or not) are contributing to societies fear and misperception of Down Syndrome?  I think it does.

Before the general public can ever change it's negative attitude about Down Syndrome, DS kids, and the parents that have chosen to give them life, I believe that nicknames like "Doodles" need to stop being used.

It's just my thought....

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