Misuse Of Name Leads To Hurt, Change

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Misuse Of Name Leads To Hurt, Change

STEPHEN BECKER February 19, 2008

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-becker0219.artfeb19,0,4662517.story

After considerable deliberation and with some reluctance, The Greater Hartford

Association for Retarded Citizens changed its corporate name to its

acronym, HARC Inc. The major reason for the change is that the term

mental retardation is no longer acceptable to people with intellectual

disabilityand their advocates since it is used in a

demeaning, hurtful and otherwise inappropriate manner. Although a

change to the new term — intellectual disability — has become

necessary, many advocates are angry about the circumstances that

precipitated it, and don't want to see the same thing happen in the

future.Previous terms for mental retardation were similarly

abandoned because of their devaluing, mean spirited and otherwise

pejorative use. Readers may be surprised that the terms mental

defectives, mental deficients, feeblemindedness, moron, imbecile and

idiot were scientific descriptors for intellectual disability. Now the

term mental retardation is being abandoned because it, too, has been

hijacked, corrupted and used in hurtful ways. How often does one hear

the words "That's retarded," "You retard" or "He's retarded"?Clinical

terminology should change as research fosters deeper understanding of a

condition. For example, manic depressive disorder was changed to

bipolar disorder and multiple personality disorder was changed to

dissociative identity disorder because the new terms better describe

the nature of these conditions. The term mental retardation, however,

is being replaced not to provide more clarity, but to escape its

history of pejorative use.

Similarly,

governmental and nonprofit organizations are changing their names to

exclude the term mental retardation not to improve understanding, but

to protect their constituents from being bullied and tormented. In

fact, the ARC of the United States, formerly the Association for

Retarded Citizens, does not use the R word or any other clinical term

in its name.

Think about the message this omission gives to

our families. Would the American Cancer Society remove the word cancer

from its name? How about the Epilepsy Foundation, American Heart

Association, Autism Speaks, the Leukemia Society, Muscular Dystrophy

Association or the Multiple Sclerosis Society? Why should organizations

serving people with intellectual disability have to use nondescript

titles to protect their people from ridicule and demeaning treatment?In

keeping with the new terminology, HARC decided to retain its acronym as

the corporate title because we are known to the community as the

organization to which people turn when help is needed. HARC intends to

use several taglines that will include — "Serving people with

intellectual disability and developmental challenges" and "Changing

lives, changing minds." We also want to communicate that

HARC's families are not ashamed of their children or the term mental

retardation. Throughout our history we have presented our people in a

proud and dignified manner. People with intellectual

disability, their families and advocates are proud of their

accomplishments, especially after being quarantined in large, often

dehumanizing institutions for generations and generations. Instead of

causing us to hide behind acronyms and cute phrases, the community

should stand in awe of our people's ingenuity, courage, resilience,

good humor, sweet, gentle and forgiving spirit, and often penetrating

wisdom. We ask our community to be vigilant for all forms of

bullying, stereotyping, discrimination or otherwise hurtful or

demeaning behavior. Remind your children and friends to use "people

first" terminology, referring to "people with intellectual disability"

rather than the intellectually disabled. Communicate with the media

when you observe hurtful language on stage and screen. Be assertive and

put an immediate stop to any attempt to turn our new terminology into

something harmful. We don't want to change our name again for the wrong

reason.Changing a name will do nothing to address the

underlying problem of prejudice and discrimination. We hope that people

seek opportunities to welcome people with intellectual disability into

their schools, workplaces and their recreational, social and religious

lives. Becker is president and CEO of HARC Inc.

Carol in IL AIM doihavtasay1 GigaTribe

doihavtasayMom to seven including , 7 with TOF, AVcanal, GERD, LS, Asthma, subglottal stenosis, and DS.My problem is not how I look. It's how you see me. Join our Down Syndrome information group - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DownSyndromeInfoExchange/ Listen to oldest dd's music http://www.myspace.com/vennamusic

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