abbyjean:

• End the R–word Awareness Day encourages people to pledge their support at www.r–word.org with the goal of ending society’s use of the word “retard(ed)” in a derogatory manner.
• The R–word was first recorded in 1426 as a verb meaning a “fact or action of making slower in movement or time.” It was not until 1895 that people began using the term as a noun. Source: Mental Health Care Inc., Historical Terms for Mental Retardation
• On July 25, 2003, in celebration of the 13th anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 12994 renaming the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
• “The name change is not just cosmetic. Words are powerful. Changing them can make a difference in people’s attitudes, understanding and self-esteem.”