Op-ed: U.S. should stop using the word ‘retarded’

Writing in the Baltimore Sun, Peter V. Berns calls for the passage of “Rosa’s Law,” a bipartisan bill that would replace the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” with “intellectual disability ” and “individual with an intellectual disability” in federal health, education and labor policy statutes.

Berns says the bill is very important for Americans with intellectual disabilities, who have endured a long history of oppression, mistreatment, and abuse, including imprisonment in institutions, forced sterilizations, and exclusion from schools, the workplace and society at large.

An excerpt:
Sadly, the same general enlightenment that now mostly spares racial and ethnic minorities from the cruelty of pejorative words has not yet been attained as it relates to people with intellectual disabilities. It is no longer socially acceptable to mock people of African-American, Latino or Asian descent, for example. But the words “retard” and “retarded” are still widely used and accepted as an insult in our homes and schoolyards and on our movie and TV screens.

Maybe people are simply unaware that intellectual disabilities result from genetics, prenatal alcohol exposure, poor nutrition, injury, illness and other unknown causes. Or could the public at large be so callous that they don’t care that people with intellectual disabilities are hurt and shamed by demeaning references?

… We must stand up for our citizens with intellectual disabilities. Senator [Barbara] Mikulski’s bill is a necessary step to help stop the use of degrading terminology. By introducing the word “disability” into the parlance, perhaps the global society will begin to understand the legitimacy of the condition and treat those living with it in a just and humane manner.