Senators Move Away from R-Word

Congress is moving toward taking another step in ending the word mental retardation.  The change won’t damage Social Security (SSI).  This comes two years after President Barack Obama introduced “Rosa’s Law.”  This move comes as a wide-spread plan to that would discuss community-living programs for kids on Medicaid.

U.S. Senate Representatives would prefer to change the term to “intellectual challenge.”  This government shift change happens as most states also ended the same language barriers.  Additionally, most doctors are also not using the term. 

 “This is an effort to remove outdated stigmas and empower parents to help the children they love,” said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who proposed the legislation along with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

In many activists’ positions, mental retardation is seen as an offensive term.  This term first became offense in the 1960s. Many kids with challenges are dismissed from school because of their differences.

Lucy in the Sky: http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1587&context=fss_papers