Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

People with disabilities are people first

Excerpt from Niles Daily Star: (click for entire article)

Dear editor,

I’m writing because I’ve noticed that many newspapers consistently use very negative language when writing about people with disabilities. This pattern influences how our society talks about disability, and in turn, shapes and impacts the lives of countless individuals in our communities.

It is quite common to read headlines that refer to a “disabled” individual. Using the word “disabled” to describe someone makes it seem as if a person’s entire identity is encompassed in whether or not they have a disability. The story that follows tends to be about a person who has done something, not done something, been injured, escaped danger or the many other things that people do over the course of their daily lives. In other words, the story is about a person living their life.  Yet, almost without fail, if the individual has a disability, the disability inevitably becomes the focus of the article.  A person’s disability is usually mentioned over and over.

Ending the R-word: Ban it or understand it?

Excerpt from CNN Living: (click for entire article)

Every time Ellen Seidman hears the word "retarded," she worries for her 9-year-old son, Max, who has cerebral palsy.

She wonders if people will ever respect him, or see him as an equal, if they associate that word with people like him, who have intellectual disabilities.

"I'm not saying that anyone who uses the word flippantly has something against people with special needs," said Seidman, a magazine editor and mom blogger. "But it is a demeaning word even if it's meant as a joke, because it spreads the idea that people who are cognitively impaired are either stupid or losers."

Student With Disabilities Starts End the R-Word Campaign

Excerpt from Care2: (click for entire article)

Alex Felts and other high school students in Plymouth, Michigan, have launched a campaign to end the use of the r-word. Felts, a senior, has dylexia, and decided to start the campaign against the use of the six-letter word after another student called her that word because she attends resource room. “I was so upset because it just is not a good word,” she says.

Other students have joined with Felts to participate in a national campaign under the Special Olympics to end the use of the r-word. The Plymouth high school students are planning to make a banner to alert their school community about the campaign; they will also encourage people to sign a pledge not to use the word. In addition, they plan to hold a bake sale, sell bracelets and pencils on Friday to raise money for the Special Olympics and also for the Food Exploration Class for students with disabilities.

Pontiac students lead the way to end the use of the “R” word

Excerpt from Blogging for Michigan: (click for entire article)

A group of students at Pontiac Township High School has created one of the latest videos to go “viral” on the Internet.

“I’m Eric” was directed by members of the school’s Peers in Action club and submitted to Spread the Word to End the Word, a national campaign that encourages people to stop the demeaning use of the words “retard” or “retarded.”

We Can End the R-Word in Movies and TV

Excerpt from Bella Online: (click for entire article)

March 7, 2012 is international Spread the Word to End the Word Day. In an effort to ban one word from everyday life, movies and television shows, individuals and organizations are speaking out about the effects of hate language on the safety, well-being, and opportunities of children, teens and adults with developmental delays and intellectual disabilities.

As citizens, customers, family members and neighbors, people with intellectual disabilities are encouraging all efforts to eliminate the use of this hate language from thoughtless neighbors as well as bullies in their environment. I believe we can make a stronger effort to raise awareness in the media, audiences and advertisers so that respectful language is substituted for hate language.

I am frustrated going to the movies with my son and being ambushed by the R-word when we are just settling in with our popcorn. When it happens, I go to the ticket booth and demand a refund. Using hate language in a movie does mean you are condoning the use of those words. Movies are vehicles for spreading the hate language among those who take on the language and attitudes of characters they admire or want to emulate - and many adolescents do identify with characters that the hate language fits. We have no lack of evidence that children, adults and the elderly also identify with characters who use hate language as part of their depiction of toughness or being 'cool.'

Battle Against Bullying: Spread The Word To End The Word

Excerpt from nbc4i: (click for entire article)

Bullying can take many forms from exclusion to physical and cyberbullying, including demeaning and destructive words.

"Retarded. Why do they need to stop using that word? Because it's disrespectful and downgrading to those who have a disability," said Brian, a Westerville North High School student.

A yearly national day of awareness took hold for the first time at Westerville North High School: Spread The Word. Stop The Word.

Trying to end ‘the word'

Excerpt from Watauga Democrat: (click for entire article)

A feeling of unity permeated the lobby of the Reich College of Education on the campus of Appalachian State University Tuesday as special education major Will Jones and his supporters launched the “R Word Campaign,” better known as “Spread the Word to End the Word” movement.

“The campaign is a nationwide effort to abolish the ‘R-word' — ‘retard(ed),” Jones said. “The word has gained such casual acceptance in our culture and like other words we can think of, it has become offensive to many people.”

Technically, Jones said, the word describes a disability, but because of its overuse and abuse, it is now an unacceptable term. It's become very hurtful to millions of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and to their families,” he said. “It also hurts those of us who love these people and work with them. They have had to work too hard for too long to overcome the challenges society has put on them through stereotypes. It is time for a change.”

Watch your language: Stop using the R-Word

Excerpt from The Washington Times: (click for entire article)

Civilized, caring people have stopped using common derogatory terms intended to stereotype, belittle and show disrespect to people due to race, sexual orientation, gender or certain physical attributes.

But there is one common slang term that is equally insulting and offensive, yet people use it without hesitation: the R-word.

The R-word, “retard” or “retarded,” is slang for the term mental retardation. Mental retardation was what doctors, psychologists, and other professionals used to describe people with significant intellectual impairment. The R-word is still commonly used by society as a thoughtless insult for someone or something stupid. You might hear someone say without thinking, “That is so retarded” or “Don’t be such a retard.”

The R-word should absolutely be removed from our language

Excerpt from Great Falls Tribune: (click for entire article)

Iowa state legislators are sponsoring a bill that would replace the use of the words "retarded" or "retardation" with "intellectual disability" in that state. This bill sends the nation a good message — that using the R-word is not acceptable.

Iowa state legislator Rep. Lisa Heddens is pushing the bill. Her son, Paul, 17, has Down syndrome.

"The idea of the term 'retarded,' to me, comes off as 'less than.' That's not how I see my son," Heddens said.

People using "retarded" as an insult might not mean to hurt people with intellectual disabilities, but it does affect them, whether they realize it or not.

Emphasize Person Rather Than Developmental Disability

Patti’s Comment:  I also came across this awesome quote from Mark Twain that applies so well to this subject:  The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and the lightening bug. For more links about this important issue, see my website page: People First Language

Excerpt from nwi.com:

The headline, "Autistic teen dies after being shot by Cal City police" could be taken offensively by those with a developmental disability or those who love someone with a developmental disability.

The standard today is to use people-first language. People-first language is a form of linguistic prescriptivism in English, which helps to avoid dehumanization when discussing people with disabilities.