Does Rahm Emanuel deserve to lose his job because he used “The R word”?  Public outrage erupted, including a call from Sarah Palin for President Obama to fire Emanuel, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the White House Chief of Staff used the words “f——retarded.” He was referring to a plan by liberal special interest groups to run ads targeting conservative Democrats not supporting health care reform.  The remark was made in a closed-door meeting, but after it was publicized, Emanuel apologized to Special Olympics chairman and CEO Tim Shriver, who has spearheaded a campaign to end the use of “the R word.”

Regardless of the context of the insult, the words were heard and felt by people with disabilities, and by their families, friends and supporters.  This incident can serve as a wake-up call about just how powerful and hurtful language can be.  It seems as if the word “retarded” has been making a comeback as an acceptable term to call someone who might otherwise be labeled as an idiot, moron, or a buffoon.  For example, we often hear teenagers saying, “You’re a retard” or “That’s retarded.” 

Words do matter.  Insults like “the R word” reinforce stereotypes that people with intellectual disabilities try to forget, but are too often reminded about when these comments are made. Among the many examples of words or phrases that people with disabilities and their supporters would like to eliminate from mainstream society are: “higher functioning,” “lower functioning,”  “Sped-Ed classes,” and “wheelchair bound.”

On her website, http://www.disabilityisnatural.com, Kathie Snow works to educate and raise public awareness by calling for “People First Language.” She says, “When we define people by their [medical] diagnoses, we devalue and disrespect them as individuals… People can no more be defined by their medical diagnoses than others can be defined by gender, ethnicity, religion, or other traits!”  Still, many people don’t even think twice when they hear someone introduced as “blind, deaf and dumb.”  “People first language puts the person before the disability, and describes what a person has, not who a person is,” says Snow. 

In the latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the diagnosis of “mental retardation” has been changed to “intellectual disability” to avoid the stigma of the word “retarded.” Implementing this change, Maryland House Bill 20 (“Intellectual Disability, Rosa’s Law”) was signed into law on April 14, 2009, by Governor O’Malley.  The law seeks to preserve the dignity of people with intellectual disabilities by ending the use of the term “mental retardation” by professionals in the areas of health and education.  Those who are diagnosed with this kind of “disability” are not dumb, or stupid; in fact, it can be argued that they are much more intelligent than the people who continue to hurl “the R word” as an insult.

Jewish Community Services supports people with disabilities in living, learning, working and participating fully in life in our community.  Many people whom we serve have families and jobs and live in their own homes.  The adults who live in our ALU residences are educated and contribute to the community.  They are employed in jobs at the Gallery at Harbor Place, Courtland Gardens, Embassy Suites Hotel, the University of MD Research Center, to name a few.  Some volunteer at Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital and here at JCS.  These individuals would like to be introduced by their names and recognized for their strengths, interests and needs, and not identified by their diagnosis. 

Perhaps some good will come of this latest high-profile insult to people with disabilities.  People First Language can change attitudes, hearts and minds by reminding us that each person is a unique individual, and that we should treat every one as a human being, not a label.

By Ann Skinner, Senior Manager, Special Needs, and Scott Siwicki, Team Manager, Residential Services, Jewish Community Services, Baltimore, MD

To learn more about how JCS can help you solve life’s puzzles, visit http://www.jcsbaltimore.org or call 410-466-9200.  Jewish Community Services is an agency of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.