SPREAD THE WORD!
Happy March 6th!
Today is the 5th annual 'Spread the Word to End the Word' awareness
day - so to celebrate and help promote it - I am sharing some personal insight
to hopefully inspire you to help ensure this word is eliminated.
The dreaded R-word - 'retard' or 'retarded'. Just typing it makes me cringe now. I used to throw it around casually in
conversation and didn't think twice about it.
I vividly recall when a friend said "oh - i hate that word!" -
after I had used it - and I didn't understand what her deal was. I wish I would have asked her for more of an
explanation - but at the time I just found it interesting that she was so
opposed to it - but I continued on with it in my vocabulary. Fast forward a few years - and now I fully
understand what she was trying to tell me.
My daughter has Down syndrome - but she is so much more than
just an extra chromosome...so much more than an intellectual disability. She is beautiful, she is spunky, she has a
priceless smile, she has determination, and she has potential - a lot of it!
When I hear the
r-word tossed around - it's like a dagger.
Maybe you don't understand why I'm so opposed to this word. You say you wouldn't dream of calling my girl the r-word....but what it tells me is that you don't see her
potential. You don't really believe that
she can succeed in life - you don't plan to give her a chance. And
that breaks my heart. I want this world
to be a good place for Brianne. I want her to have opportunities and for people
to see that she can accomplish many things. I
want society to understand that she has tremendous potential and to know she will do great things
- if you simply give her a chance.
So I ask you - please take the pledge to Spread the Word to
End the Word. It's unfair to people
that have intellectual disabilities to live in world where the r-word is tossed
around. I hope you will join me and so many others who are determined to Spread
the Word to End the Word.
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Thanks so much for sharing Adrienne. Getting to know Brianne over the past few years has been such a great experience for us in awareness, (future) parenting, and seeing her potential. We can't wait to see the amazing things Miss Brianne does throughout her life!
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