If you don't like the term "disorder" then you may want to contact the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and ask them to change their name.
I've heard that many black people consider the term "colored people" to be racist, but the NAACP hasn't changed their name, so if they accept that term, it's going to be perpetuated and not go away. If the National Institute on Deafness has "communication disorder" in its title, then how is the general public supposed to know that many deaf people find that offensive? It's the same with any thing/term that certain groups or individuals believe discriminates against them (the Confederate flag, team names like Redskins, etc.). When those terms/symbols are used by organizations who have power, or if they've been used for a long time and tradition is involved, it's difficult to make things change.
I'm not saying you're wrong about it being rude/offensive (not that I think Kitty 956 meant it that way at all), but if you're wondering why people use that term, it's likely thought of as being acceptable because it's in the title of the Institute. It doesn't make it right, but until the Institute changes its name, that term probably isn't going away.
