Submitted by: Submitted by vlemons98
Views: 10
Words: 499
Pages: 2
Category: Societal Issues
Date Submitted: 05/16/2016 06:59 PM
The RWord
The summer of my sixth grade year was a hot one. I remember standing on concrete steps
and being able to see waves of heat radiating off the pavement. The stands around the track at the
University of Richmond were filled with fans and families waiting for races to start. I was not at
a university track meet, but at the Summer Special Olympics. I volunteered that year with my
friend and her family; serving lunch to athletes and cheering them on was what we did the whole
day! Being around people with intellectual disabilities all day allowed me to come to the
conclusion that there is no need to be reserved or act like anything other than normal around
them. They can all hold conversations and appreciate kindness just as much as everyone else.
They are what kept me coming back to volunteer at every summer games since then.
After the experience I had there, I started noticing the use of the word “retarded” in
everyday language. It is thrown around, being used as an insult, by teenagers in almost every
single high school in the country. The word “retarded” should not be used due to the derogatory
nature of the word and the hurtful connotations it carries with it.
“Retarded” was first used in 1895 in relation to developmental delay. However, by the
1960s it was used to replace terms like idiot, moron, and imbecile. That is until President Obama
signed a bill into a law making the terms "mental retardation" and" mentally retarded" become
replaced with "intellectual disability" and "individual with an intellectual disability." (Reynolds).
This illuminated the derogatory nature of “retarded” as a weapon to insult people simply out of
ignorance. It is used critically and disrespectfully against others without a second thought.
Many people with intellectual disabilities feel the hurtful connotations associated with the ...