A topic that seems to be coming up quite a lot recently is the issue of "The R-word". Here are two examples the Speaking For Ourselves admin have recently discovered, and a great petition to end the usage of it.
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FIRST EXAMPLE
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On our Tumblr page, we shared a conversation in Twitter between the comedian DL Hughley (Who has a son with Asperger's Syndrome) and Miz KP, the owner of the blog Sailing Autistic Seas [http://sailingautisticseas.com/about-miz-kp/].
The blog owner - who also has an autistic son - said to DL Hughley on Twitter that they were offended by his use of that word, which was used to refer to his son and apparently got a lot of laughs out of the audience.
In response, DL said that everybody dealt with things differently. In response to Miz KP politely and respectfully telling DL Hughley that they had enjoyed his show until the use of that word, and how hurtful many on the spectrum find that word. Hughley then swore at them and patronisingly told them that he didn't care what they thought!
You can see what went on here [http://sailingautisticseas.com/my-exchange-with-d-l-hughley-about-the-word-retarded/].
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SECOND EXAMPLE
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This example is taken from the blog 30 Days of Autism [http://30daysofautism.wordpress.com/]. The blog owner's son used to be a fan of 'Fred' (A show on Youtube which was popular with preadolescents and children).
On discovering that Fred had used the r-word [some time in August/September 2012], their son said that they would not watch the show any more.... and they haven't watched it once since then. The blog owner has engaged in discussion with their son about why the R-word matters to them, and son and mother have botth signed the petition which will appear below.
Blog post: [http://30daysofautism.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/autism-empathy-and-the-r-word/]
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PETITION
* * * * * [http://www.r-word.org/] - is a petition started up by the Special Olympics in America which campaigns to end the use of the word 'retard(ed)' as a perjorative. Over 13 000 people follow the cause on Twitter [https://twitter.com/EndTheWord/followers]; there are over 200 organisations in the US alone that support this petition [http://www.r-word.org/r-word-supporting-organizations.aspx] and over 330 000 people have signed it so far. Will you sign it too?
One of the most famous supporters of this campaign is Barack Obama - the US president himself. In October 2010, he signed a bill called Rosa's Law. This bill, which takes its name and inspiration for 9-year-old Rosa Marcellino, removes the terms “mental retardation” and "mentally retarded" from federal health, education and labor policy and replaces them with people first language i.e.
“individual with an intellectual disability” and “intellectual disability.”
* * * * *
FIRST EXAMPLE
* * * * *
On our Tumblr page, we shared a conversation in Twitter between the comedian DL Hughley (Who has a son with Asperger's Syndrome) and Miz KP, the owner of the blog Sailing Autistic Seas [http://sailingautisticseas.com/about-miz-kp/].
The blog owner - who also has an autistic son - said to DL Hughley on Twitter that they were offended by his use of that word, which was used to refer to his son and apparently got a lot of laughs out of the audience.
In response, DL said that everybody dealt with things differently. In response to Miz KP politely and respectfully telling DL Hughley that they had enjoyed his show until the use of that word, and how hurtful many on the spectrum find that word. Hughley then swore at them and patronisingly told them that he didn't care what they thought!
You can see what went on here [http://sailingautisticseas.com/my-exchange-with-d-l-hughley-about-the-word-retarded/].
* * * * *
SECOND EXAMPLE
* * * * *
This example is taken from the blog 30 Days of Autism [http://30daysofautism.wordpress.com/]. The blog owner's son used to be a fan of 'Fred' (A show on Youtube which was popular with preadolescents and children).
On discovering that Fred had used the r-word [some time in August/September 2012], their son said that they would not watch the show any more.... and they haven't watched it once since then. The blog owner has engaged in discussion with their son about why the R-word matters to them, and son and mother have botth signed the petition which will appear below.
Blog post: [http://30daysofautism.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/autism-empathy-and-the-r-word/]
* * * * *
PETITION
* * * * * [http://www.r-word.org/] - is a petition started up by the Special Olympics in America which campaigns to end the use of the word 'retard(ed)' as a perjorative. Over 13 000 people follow the cause on Twitter [https://twitter.com/EndTheWord/followers]; there are over 200 organisations in the US alone that support this petition [http://www.r-word.org/r-word-supporting-organizations.aspx] and over 330 000 people have signed it so far. Will you sign it too?
One of the most famous supporters of this campaign is Barack Obama - the US president himself. In October 2010, he signed a bill called Rosa's Law. This bill, which takes its name and inspiration for 9-year-old Rosa Marcellino, removes the terms “mental retardation” and "mentally retarded" from federal health, education and labor policy and replaces them with people first language i.e.
“individual with an intellectual disability” and “intellectual disability.”
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