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Rosa’s mother sat at the parent-teacher meeting and read the paper in front of her. She saw the words “mentally retarded” to describe her 9-year-old daughter, who had Down syndrome. Like many parents, she wanted to protect Rosa from bullying. Derogatory language was not new to her. But these were the teacher’s words. 

With the help of then-Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Rosa’s mother championed the passage of a Maryland bill in 2009 to eliminate those words from laws. The movement continued. In 2010, Rosa’s Law was signed by President Obama, and similar references in all federal documents eventually were changed to “intellectual disability.”   

Over the years, the medical community has called people with a diminished IQ a range of now derogatory words including dimwitted, defective, moron, idiot, and imbecile. So, when “mentally retarded” was adopted in the 1950s it was somewhat of an improvement.  

This shift in language accompanied the beginning of a shift in the care of the disabled. Medical interventions, mainstreaming in schools, and community integration away from institutionalization changed life expectancy and quality of life for people with Down syndrome, Angelman’s, Fragile X, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Prader-Willi, and other unnamed intellectual disabilities.  

However, what started as a preferred medical term was soon adopted by laypeople and was made into slang. The 2008 movie “Tropic Thunder” used the R-word (and others) in a protracted “joke” that provoked a response so visceral that it eventually changed the attitude of a nation. 

The “Spread the Word to Stop the Word” campaign was started by Special Olympics, a program begun by Eunice Kennedy in the 1960s. From 2010 to 2020, leaders and self-advocates collected literally millions and millions of digital and physical pledges to end the R-word.  

Up until October of last year, the R-word was largely considered taboo. Some words, once cast aside, have been reclaimed by the group they target. People with an intellectual disability have not reclaimed this word. The edgy comedian who chooses to use it is tasteless. The South African CEO who tweets it to hundreds of millions of people is the same.  

Unfortunately, derogatory language, degradation, and bullying of the disabled in this country, through the use of that word, is on the rise. In February, that same corporate CEO used a “Tropic Thunder” “joke” when responding to a Danish astronaut who dared to criticize him. Use of the R-word is increasing on social media, and those posts are being widely shared. This toxic and juvenile behavior is being amplified even more when used by people with large followings.  

March is Disability Awareness Month. People with physical, developmental, and sensory disabilities may or may not have intellectual disabilities. However, we all agree that we must AGAIN stop the use of the R-word. We must correct others who use it, share it, or laugh when it is used.  

Rosa’s mother, those with intellectual disabilities, their families, and millions of others protest when the user’s response is, “Oh, lighten up, it’s just a word.” It is hurtful. It is thoughtless. It is never acceptable. It is reflective of a time when some people’s lives were marginalized, at best; discarded at worst.  

Be aware of the words you use. They have the power to hurt and humiliate. The trauma of words is as damaging as any wound. To quote Rosa’s brother, Nick, “What you call people is how you treat them.”