Pledge to End the R-Word

Rosa's Law
Rosa’s Law, signed by President Obama on October 6, 2010, requires federal statutes currently using the term “mental retardation” to refer instead to “intellectually disability.” Pledge to End the R-Word is an ongoing campaign to "Spread the Word to End the Word". Join the 287,545 people who have pledged today. (The pledge is free of charge and registration)


Why Does It Hurt?
The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It’s offensive. It’s derogatory. The R-word is hate speech. See why supporters think the R-Word is hurtful when used in jokes or as part of everyday speech. More on Effects >

How "Retardation" went from a Clinical Description to a Word of Derision

When they were originally introduced, the terms “mental retardation” or “mentally retarded” were medical terms with a specifically clinical connotation; however, the pejorative forms, “retard” and “retarded” have been used widely in today’s society to degrade and insult people with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, when “retard” and “retarded” are used as synonyms for “dumb” or “stupid” by people without disabilities, it only reinforces painful stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities being less valued members of humanity.
“Everyone has a gift and the world would be better off if we recognized it.” – Timothy Shriver, Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics. 

Source for content, r-word.org