tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post4590660174065351209..comments2024-03-28T05:52:50.399-04:00Comments on Autism with a side of fries : "I didn't mean your kid." Eileen Shaklee http://www.blogger.com/profile/04658354442888448425noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-50963124603152045402015-01-11T16:48:44.651-05:002015-01-11T16:48:44.651-05:00Wow, Rachael D. you just totally changed my perspe...Wow, Rachael D. you just totally changed my perspective on the word autistic! Thank you!Rachaelhttp://ramblingsofaspecialmom.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-71534711362454607162014-12-07T10:43:31.826-05:002014-12-07T10:43:31.826-05:00I'm pro-choice and I think that if people want...I'm pro-choice and I think that if people want to (e.g. if it's due to rape or if the pregnancy will harm the mother/baby) they can abort. Having said that, I also believe that everyone has a chance for a happy life. You don't HAVE to abort a baby with an ID if you don't want to. Kind of where the "choice" bit comes from. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-75830582738046281592014-12-07T10:39:40.906-05:002014-12-07T10:39:40.906-05:00@Anonymous March 6 2013 at 5:38 PM
What you said ...@Anonymous March 6 2013 at 5:38 PM<br /><br />What you said completely defeats the purpose of the article. Stupid and dumb are NOT synonymous with the r-word, yet people using it as a derogatory term leads society to think so. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-27313011651902501482014-11-07T18:24:49.873-05:002014-11-07T18:24:49.873-05:00I know what you mean. I had an argument with a gir...I know what you mean. I had an argument with a girl I knew when I was 12 because she said, "You're so retarded," as a joke. I called her out and she tried to use the Internet to justify the r-word is the 'correct medical term' when I knew for a fact it isn't.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05677908010783548636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-19309957329085014472014-11-07T18:22:07.280-05:002014-11-07T18:22:07.280-05:00Oh dear God... your boy must have been so brave to...Oh dear God... your boy must have been so brave to have said that to his TEACHER. I have so much respect for your son and for you to have instilled this message so early on.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05677908010783548636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-48799582833118604872014-07-27T12:19:22.369-04:002014-07-27T12:19:22.369-04:00Darlin', I taught junior high to your generati...Darlin', I taught junior high to your generation and got royally sick of anything my students didn't like being called "retarded", especially since my oldest son IS retarded (Down Syndrome). As far as I can see, this is when using this term became really popular -- although my students and their siblings and their friends quickly learned that pushing my buttons by using "retarded" as a put-down was NOT very smart, not unless they enjoyed getting lectured. I'm glad that you're taking a strong strong stand against using the language of disabilities to describe things people don't like. I think the next term we need to strike is one I use far too often -- "crazy". Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-79200233163140281572014-03-04T22:52:37.520-05:002014-03-04T22:52:37.520-05:00Way to go Lee Hackett for standing up to your frie...Way to go Lee Hackett for standing up to your friends for using this word and even for not being their friends anymore. I'm sure it was a difficult thing to do. I myself have stopped being friends with people who would not stop using that disgraceful word. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-21489106034132513122013-07-10T10:26:55.080-04:002013-07-10T10:26:55.080-04:00A friend of mine was visiting with her toddler one...A friend of mine was visiting with her toddler one day....my 11 year old son was stimming, and her toddler was watching him....so I said, .."look how amused Josh is by Michael.."...She said, "he's probably thinking...look at that freak"...WTF did she just say? I should have corrected her right there, but alas, I was not granted with the quick wit gene...so I waited till the next day....she flipped out on ME, telling me ..."you're too sensitive"....oyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-64320721690588976192013-06-05T16:01:17.307-04:002013-06-05T16:01:17.307-04:00i get annoyed witrh the pc police i have autism an...i get annoyed witrh the pc police i have autism an ld an dontr like people who dont have disabilitys telling me an my friebnds what we are an what to say .i dont understand why they are changing mental reataedion itr is a medical dx .i dont like being lump under one bog lable as people are ingorent as it is .i was thought of as retard .it not nice to call someone that .but as long as it not being dircted at me i dont say anything .if i hear it in public .some people are nuts /rude an may tell me tO myob .it tricky the whole thingLYRIC NOTEShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12561059214657500570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-33411060205260101722013-04-16T08:50:53.701-04:002013-04-16T08:50:53.701-04:00I worked at a special needs school and was working...I worked at a special needs school and was working with high need student. They are some extremely bright children! Some of my friends asked why am I working at 'The retard school' My reply was that if they their selves had worked at the school they'd see how amazing and smart those children are. They just have one small thing stopping them from expressing it all. those people are no longer my friends. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425027153476521694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-56274047904655991272013-04-09T17:06:25.587-04:002013-04-09T17:06:25.587-04:00i am autistic though. not a person "with"...i am autistic though. not a person "with" autism. autism is not a personality quirk that i carry around with me, it's a part of who i am. Rachel D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-57933269036586665962013-04-02T23:00:34.150-04:002013-04-02T23:00:34.150-04:00That's a dictionary definition. Remember, we ...That's a dictionary definition. Remember, we live in a society of people who aren't quite sure what a dictionary is. On another note, the word idiot has a similar meaning, yet it isn't even used anymore in a medical sense. People are still considered mentally retarded, but no longer do professionals use the term idiot. Why then are we all throwing our hats down at the word retard, but ignoring words so commonplace that they don't even seem so bad anymore? <br /><br />Many would scoff at the notion of calling someone a retard even from a medical perspective. But an idiot - well, I hear that one all too often. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-6446069665729586532013-04-02T22:55:00.630-04:002013-04-02T22:55:00.630-04:00Thing is.... you can call someone retarded in cert...Thing is.... you can call someone retarded in certain instances, say, to explain to a parent that their child is retarded from a medical perspective. Someone already mentioned, and is absolutely correct in saying, that's the proper way to use the term. However, when it's used by people against each other - retarded or not - it's offensive. All the same, a few of my friends are medically considered retarded.... does that mean anybody needs to offend my friends by calling them by such crude terms? That's like calling me lactose intolerant and laughing at my inability to digest dairy products, but on a much higher scale. Here, we're talking about a life-impacting disability. Sure, there are retarded people. But you don't just use a term like that lightly. <br /><br />You do bring up a good point though. Just because people are offended, some may find opposition when using words correctly. "This patient is retarded". Or even using the word retarded correctly. After all, when calling a person retarded, you mean to say the person is *mentally retarded*. Retarded by itself means something different. I've said before that a surface with a high coefficient of friction will retard motion of objects accross it. That's how we talk about motion and friction. In that case I wasn't talking about mental retardation at all - yet I still faced people telling me to stop being so offensive. <br /><br />TL;DR we all need to grow up and use vocabulary words correctly. Calling a person mentally retarded is only acceptable in a medical setting, and I'd also go as far as saying only when used by doctor to explain a condition. It's not often (read: never) that anyone would find it necessary to explain someone else's medical condition. Using the term retard in a correct sense is acceptable - but it is difficult for others to understand. <br /><br />Side note, if you've ever heard of fire retardant fabric.... that's another acceptable use of the term retard. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-36916181057485404352013-03-31T00:48:09.221-04:002013-03-31T00:48:09.221-04:00That's really hateful.That's really hateful. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-11929469126082617862013-03-29T01:16:02.907-04:002013-03-29T01:16:02.907-04:00the word retard mean that they developed later tha...the word retard mean that they developed later than expected, and just because the autistic kids can learn some things does not mean that the kid is not stupid or retarded because they are. I'm sure your kid might be nice some of them are, but some are mean little bastards. you are all just very protective mothers because you love your children which is ok, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop calling people retarded that are retarded. and you said that they shouldn't feel like they're less of a person, well truth is they are less of a person & if the kid understands that then maybe he is becoming a little bit more intelligent. . but the truth is they won't understand it they might understand that people are using in a negative way but they don't understand things the way other people do, because they are retardedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-51814250174025553392013-03-12T01:29:15.469-04:002013-03-12T01:29:15.469-04:00When my son was in 1st grade, a boy with Asperger&...When my son was in 1st grade, a boy with Asperger's, in his class, bothered the bajeesus out of him. My son, who was still getting used to school and working hard to follow the teacher's rules, couldn't understand why this boy interrupted the teacher without raising his hand, paced around the room, and "refused" to participate in expected ways.<br /><br />I didn't tell my son to use a word about the boy. I went to the boy's mom, and I let her give me the words. I said, "How would you like me to talk to my son about your son?" She gave us a book. She asked us not to use the "A" word, because they had not yet taught their son about the name used for his diagnosis.<br /><br /><br />So I don't use the "r" word about people. <br /><br />And yet, I also don't get up in arms when people do it and it's *not* about a person who might have formerly been described with that word. Like Joe Flacco. Or Lady Gaga. Or Lebron James. I feel that a minority is asking a majority to change their words. In this post and in other places, I see a minority *telling* the majority what they truly mean when they use the word. I see an inability to see that sometimes--and I accept that I may be naive about how relatively infrequent this may be--there is *affection* in the use of this word about neurotypical people who make offbeat choices. And finally, I see a campaign where we are told that this word isn't even accurately used anymore to define the people diagnosis/disability/condition, AND also told that we're referring to those same people when we use it in this more common way. If you don't use it, don't use it. But it's unfair to tell everyone not to use it, it's unrealistic to expect rapid change about its use, and it's certainly not edifying to confront them as this post recommends.<br /><br />Finally, I will say that a lot of people who get irate about this word are in the midst of a grief process, either about someone with an intellectual disability or with the culture that doesn't make life easier. Some people really do become irrational and unable to have a discussion about it, when what we really need is more discussion. And compassion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-20019368818277261142013-03-12T01:15:44.412-04:002013-03-12T01:15:44.412-04:00Amen.Amen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-49883778388135171982013-03-08T17:54:31.408-05:002013-03-08T17:54:31.408-05:00Couldn't agree more!!
http://captainjacktastic...Couldn't agree more!!<br />http://captainjacktastic.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/that-word/\quilterinaTinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04205384925462692865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-73854662926188998602013-03-08T12:19:49.186-05:002013-03-08T12:19:49.186-05:00My daughter is 42 and believe me she knows what th...My daughter is 42 and believe me she knows what the R word is all about. She has been devastated by being called that. She has cried in my arms and has asked me over the years the "Why question".. Why would someone say that to me? "I am Jennifer. I am me.".<br />On one airlines when I went to get my daughter a card to board among the first when she was traveling actually said to the two of us.."There is nothing wrong..get it WRONG with her". I did not want to have a fight with her as my daughter was standing right by me. I quietly gave the girl a look that was saying if I could I would slam you from one side of this airport to the other..but I realized the situation had to be handled so I quietly said my daughter was "Special". My daughter got that code immediately and started crying. The airline representative just standing there finally gave us the card we needed. My daughter and I went back to the gate where she cried and cried. I started crying too. Once she boarded the flight I could not move. I started to weep. Finally, a representative of the airlines came up to me and asked if I was alright. I said no as the tears kept coming. It was as if a flood gate of tears and anger and sadness all wrapped in one. I finally was able to tell him what happen..then a Customer Service fellow came to visit me. I was crying and so mad. He apologized one hundred times and handed me a round-trip ticket to wherever I wanted to go. I said I don't want this. I want you to get the girl who said this and fire her. He said he would "Talk to her". I can only pray she got his message. He asked for my daughter's name and called her when she arrived at her destination. He called me too telling me my daughter sounded good. I thanked him. This was six years ago so my daughter was 36.<br />If there are still people out there that think kids do not understand or get hurt from words used..learn again. Get rid of the R word. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-57098788372244827802013-03-08T09:14:46.801-05:002013-03-08T09:14:46.801-05:00Congratulations on the GOLD medal!!! That is aweso...Congratulations on the GOLD medal!!! That is awesome!! Keep smiling :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-14498566589721468442013-03-07T21:20:26.667-05:002013-03-07T21:20:26.667-05:00I agree better to not show a confrontational attit...I agree better to not show a confrontational attitude and make the situation worse than it is already. People will also not respond as well to being called out in a "confrontational" manner. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-84936844741053346172013-03-07T16:48:53.976-05:002013-03-07T16:48:53.976-05:00^Anonymous March 1, 2013 at 5:38PM
You're stu...^Anonymous March 1, 2013 at 5:38PM<br /><br />You're stupid. And you chose to be stupid by not learning basic things like grammar.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-10692059718066743372013-03-07T11:26:48.875-05:002013-03-07T11:26:48.875-05:00It's a very difficult problem with no easy ans...It's a very difficult problem with no easy answers. My 85 year old grandmother has expressed to me her frustration with having to learn and change terminology every decade or so. Negro or the lazy form in the south niggrah was commonplace and used by both blacks and whites. Well the term has had several incarnations since then and the current is African American, which my grandmother just refuses to use (as do I and the vast majority of my black friends). It's sad we even need the designation - but we do. Now many are crying foul about the word "disabled" being used for autistic and other mentally related disorders. To me the medical terms "developmentally retarded" or "mentally retarded" are accurate for many disorders, but not all. The sad thing is once a term is adopted to describe the condition or disorder it will begin to be used as an insult and then will become offensive and people will insist a change in terminology which means all the books have to be updated and old people seem out of touch and prejudiced again. I used to work with the deaf and people would tell me I shouldn't refer to them as "deaf" but instead "hearing impaired". Sometimes for fun I would tell that to some if my deaf friends just to see the look on their face. Lol. I've never known one to use the term "hearing impaired". So to me the problem isn't the terms but the fact that people consider them an insult. If anyone ever uses the term "crazy" as an insult I call them out in it. If someone were to call me crazy or stupid as an insult I would tell them my psychiatrist swears I'm not, but if I were I wouldn't be ashamed of it. <br /><br />It seems there is no easy answer. As long as humans are mean we'll have to keep figuring this out. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-20663147236658696032013-03-07T10:53:29.276-05:002013-03-07T10:53:29.276-05:00This highlights why I think easy access to abortio...This highlights why I think easy access to abortions is so horrendous. Deciding who gets to continue living and who doesn't is huge and not usually best left to us humans. A study in India found that 99% of aborted fetuses were female. Now with modern science we can learn so much about a child before its born. We are entering a world where humans who don't "make the grade" are just killed to make room one that will. Should we have abortion clinics screen people by asking "are you doing this because its a girl? Or has Down's syndrome? Or brown eyes. Taking the randomness out of reproduction could have dire consequences down the road. And make for a less colorful world. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644538309673050572.post-82933409155997764592013-03-07T10:39:32.072-05:002013-03-07T10:39:32.072-05:00It is wonderful that the English language can evol...It is wonderful that the English language can evolve, sadly though, people like you never will!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com