Although originally a clinical term and introduced with good intentions, the term “mental retardation” and the pejorative, shortened “retard” have been used widely to degrade and insult people with intellectual disability and have found their way into common usage. By instead using “intellectual disability” and “an individual with an intellectual disability” in federal laws, the Senate sends a strong signal that language is important and that no form of the R-word should be used to refer to any of its constituents.
“Respect, value, and dignity – everyone deserves to be treated this way. These traits don’t need to be earned,” said Dr. Timothy Shriver, Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics. “This Senate action shows that our elected officials understand and embrace this ideal. I congratulate Sen. Mikulski and Sen. Enzi for their vision and sensitivity to people with intellectual disabilities everywhere.”
The bill is the most recent in a number of actions taken by state and local governments in Maryland, Texas, Ohio and others, as well as national and international organizations such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the President of the United States, through his Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Special Olympics also has a history of actions to change the way people refer to those with intellectual disabilities. In 2004, in response to its athletes’ call for change, the Special Olympics International Board of Directors adopted a resolution to update the movement's terminology from “mental retardation” to “intellectual disabilities.” In 2008, Special Olympics launched its R-Word Campaign to combat the inappropriate use of the word in common usage and helped lead protests against media use of the word such as in the film Tropic Thunder. And, in 2009, the youth-led “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign launched with rallies in K-12 schools and universities around the country, enlisting young people to combat use of the word.
The Special Olympics movement knows that language matters. The impact is perhaps best expressed by John Franklin Stephens, a Special Olympics Global Messenger. “What is wrong with ‘retard’? I can only tell you what it means to me and people like me when we hear it. It means that the rest of you are excluding us from your group. We are something that is not like you and something that none of you would ever want to be. We are something outside the ‘in’ group. I want you to know that it hurts to be left out here – alone.”
- The Special Olympics Movement