When I was nine years old, I was told by my mother to not say a specific word, no matter what the context be: retarded. “Why?”, I asked. She said that it’s a negative term used to describe people like my aunt and my cousins, as well as other special needs people that we knew. To this day, I don’t use it except in times like these: to educate people.

Back before they actually gave autism—let alone most special needs disorders—a name, they used to call these certain people “mentally retarded”. They didn’t know how to name the problems people had until they had the right tools and resources to figure out what was going on with all the people that had issues. In today’s day of age, the word is used in several different contexts. Some use it to still describe those who mentally handicapped or have developmental disabilities, which is the most stinging of all. Those who are ignorant of the original use of the word use it to describe things that are “stupid” and “dumb”, whether it be a person or a situation.

My freshman year of college, I learned about the Spread the Word to End the Word Movement, which educates people about the negative impact the r-word has on people. I didn’t know such a thing existed, and I took the pledge. Being a relative of people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and knowing friends with special needs relatives of their own, I know the negative impact it has on people. The word is derogatory, exclusive, and most importantly, hurtful. I am that friend that asks, “would you please not say that word? There are better words to say than that” or flat out “don’t use that word, it’s offensive”. For most of my friends, they understand why I don’t want them using the word and they willingly agree to use a different term.

Then there are those who say “it’s not being directed at you, or your family members, or anyone else with special needs. Don’t be so sensitive about it and let me say want I want.” This makes my blood boil, and I don’t get angry very easily nor often. The context they usually use the word in are referring to situations they are in that they think are stupid. I understand that there is this thing called “freedom of speech”. The amount of times that I have been told that statement has been more or less the amount of fingers on both hands. I get that you aren’t talking about my cousins, my aunt, or anyone else who is handicapped. It’s still hurtful, regardless of how you use it.

Since April is Autism Awareness, I would like everyone who reads this to not just spread the word about autism, but also about the r-word. The more we get people educated about the things going on in our world, the better. When I’m older, the only time I want to hear the word “retarded” is when they talk about it in a historical context and not a current thing of the world I live in.

To learn more about the Spread the Word to End the Word Movement, go to http://www.r-word.org/