Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Spread the Word to End the Word

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.

More info on this topic can be found here:

http://r-word.org/

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1 comment:

  1. 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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