Spread The Word To End The Word

Before Reyna was born I know I used to throw out the "R" word when talking to someone as a synonym for dumb or stupid.  I had never thought of the impact that it had on the people with intellectual disabilities, even though those were not the people I was using it on.  Then I had Reyna and it changed my way of thinking.  I thought about what if someone used the "R" word with her and what she would feel like.  Or maybe someone wouldn't use the word with her but just that the word was still being used and it was a way of saying that a person was acting like someone with intellectual disabilities like her.  So Pedro and I made a pledge to end the use of the "R" word.
A little history on the "R" word.  It was originally introduced as a medical term to used for someone that was delayed and had cognitive disabilities.  Today it is used as a derogatory term for the way someone is acting or to describe a person or item. In 2008 the Special Olympics started the campaign the Spread The Word To End The Word.  Soon after that in  October 2010 President Obama signed SB 7821 also known as Rosa's Law into federal law the term "individual with an intellectual disability" and "intellectual disability" for federal health, education and labor policy replacing the use of "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded".  This was a step in the right direction.

Please join Pedro and I along with the thousand of others in pledging to end the use of the "R" word by March 7, 2012.

 Please click here to pledge.