Social Security Administration’s Ending the Use of the “R-word”

from The Arc:
In an historic change for people with intellectual disabilities (ID), the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced its intent to stop using the phrase “mental retardation” and start using “intellectual disability” in its official Listing of Impairments.
This change, which The Arc and many other organizations advocated for, comes a little over two years after President Barack Obama signed Rosa’s Law.  In 2010, The Arc was very involved in efforts to end the use of the “r-word” and worked to enact Rosa’s Law, which substituted the stigmatizing word with the terms “intellectual disability” and “individual with an intellectual disability” in federal health, education, and labor policy statutes.  While the legislation did not cover programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, it was an important stepping stone for shaping future legislation and efforts that will transform these outdated terms in all federal laws.  The Social Security Administration’s actions are a welcome result of the success of Rosa’s Law.
“Changing how we talk about people with disabilities is a critical step in promoting and protecting their basic civil and human rights.  This is an important moment for people with disabilities because Social Security is a lifeline to so many – it allows people with ID to live in their communities and be as independent as possible.  And now, the language the agency uses will reflect the respect people with ID deserve,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc.
The proposed regulation published today has a 30 day comment period, and we encourage people to submit comments in support of the proposed regulation online by February 27, 2013.

Ilinois moves to remove the R-word

From stltoday.com:

Illinois legislators have joined a nationwide effort to retire the word "retarded" from law books. Measures that would wipe the offensive term from state statutes recently sailed through both chambers of the General Assembly.

The phrase "mentally retarded" was scratched from federal law in October 2010, and replaced with "intellectually disabled." President Barack Obama signed Rosa's Law in honor of an 8-year-old Maryland girl diagnosed with Down syndrome who helped to change the wording of her state's laws.

Since the federal law change, a national movement called "Spread the Word to End the Word," has been mobilizing change at the state level and encouraging people to pledge not to use the word "retard."

One advocacy group involved in the movement, the Arc of Illinois, inspired state Rep. Emily McAsey, D-Lockport, to propose the House bill.

The other chamber gave the go-ahead to a broader measure sponsored by state Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine. Murphy's measure would replace every instance of "crippled" in the state's books with the term "physically disabled."

Both bills (SB1833 and HB2976) need approval from the second chamber.

Tim Shriver on Bill Maher

Tim Shriver talks with Bill Maher about the following topics:

• people with disabilities are the largest population discriminated against in the world (300 million people globally)
• 95% of disabled children outside of the US do not go to school or are not allowed to go to school
• children with disabilities are 3x more likely to bullied and average length is over 1 year
• change the public behavior by civil rights movement of the heart - work together & play together
• special olympics sponsors 40,000 events a year to bring people together
• address the blind spot when people look the other way when change is needed
• Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder - there's a line between laugher and causing pain
• people are fighting and trying to fit in and not to be excluded; picking on them crosses the line into mean
• don't be a cop on poor public behavior be a teacher for the public
• people with disabilities tell us that the R-word word causes us enormous suffering
• language is living and we can grow and change
• Rosa's law- what you call people effects how you treat them

Take a minute to watch this inspiring clip with the CEO of Special Olympics, Tim Shriver.