THAT stupid word !!!

Yesterday I did something I don't normally do to kids I don't know. I embarrassed them. I REALLY embarrassed them! I didn't feel too badly about it either... well, maybe just a little. It's not their fault they are uneducated. So here I am educating... ha!

I was sitting in the waiting area of the community center watching the football game while Twin Sis and her buddies were off playing basketball. I was astounded at the number of people that just dumped their kids off and left. I was also horrified by the number of people who were not paying any attention to their toddlers as they were yapping with their other adult friends. I saw one child that was probably a two year old walk out the front door while his mom was chatting away with some other nitwit... She didn't even notice, it was only fifteen degrees and nine inches of snow outside, no big deal for a two year old... come on people!

As you can tell, I don't have much tolerance for stupidity or lack of common sense. That's why I felt a tinge of guilt for the kids I embarrassed yesterday, they probably had parents like these. They just didn't know better.

Anyhow, I was sitting in this little - very little - common area waiting for Twin Sis and the girls to finish up their big game. For the biggest part of the time, I was in there by myself, which was nice, but soon here came a group of 5 or 6 young teenagers. They were probably junior high school students; old enough to notice the old lady sitting in the middle of the room!

They had obviously been sent to the community center by their parents for the day to get them out of the house. Now, I am certain my kids are not little angels, but I am also positive that if a lady they didn't know was sitting in a tiny little room with them, where she could hear every word they said, my kids and their friends would be fairly selective in not only their topics of discussion, but their language as well. (Score at least one for Mom!!) About those kids whose company I was forced to enjoy at the community center? WOW, could their parents could use a good bar of Ivory!

Something about this lovely encounter was very surprising to me... And it is not often that I surprise myself!! I found that their vulgar sexual comments, and horribly foul language, and terrible talk of school, classmates and parents didn't really offend me. I just sat there, occasionally glancing their way to check their ages, took it all in, and kept thinking "Where did they learn this stuff?" and, even more, "Please, oh please, don't ever let Twin Sis or her friends sound like this!"

I was very angry, though, while listening to their conversation. As I sat there for about forty-five minutes, those kids used the word "retarded" thirteen times. I didn't say anything, I just fumed. They called each other retarded. They called other people who weren't there retarded. They called classes they disliked retarded. One of the kids apparently had a retarded phone. Really???

I sat there and listened. I am oversensitive to the use of the R word. Absolutely! I know I am. I am supposed to be though. That's part of my family's world. That's one of the descriptions of my Mom job!

When I left that room, I asked those kids if they would stop using the word retarded. Only one of them looked up at me, so I repeated myself. The girl that looked up didn't know what to do. "Hey you guys, don't say retarded anymore," she told them. Big eyes, not sure what to do. Who could blame her? "Crazy lady talking, come on guys, help me!" None of them did. (She really needs some new friends, I wanted to tell her.) I went on and said that I have a mentally retarded son. Her eyes got bigger. I told them all that I would appreciate it if the next time they thought about using the word retarded, they would think about what the real meaning of the word was, then see if the meaning fit how they were going to use it.

I am not sure if I did any good or not. I believe Big Eyed Girl might think twice next time she calls a cell phone retarded. She was pretty taken aback when I told her I had a mentally retarded son. I hope she gives it some thought, I also hope she tells the next person that says the word retarded to her the story about that crazy lady at the community center. Maybe I made her think. I am not sure about the rest of that group. But, I guess every thing happens with baby steps.

For those of you that haven't, go to the link at the end of this post and take the pledge to end the R-Word. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that a cell phone can't be retarded. It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to realize that if someone calls a cell phone retarded, it means they don't like it.

The word retarded does have a medical definition, but like so many words in the English language, it has changed over time. It has now become an over used adjective with a very negative connotation to it.

While Alex fits the medical definition of retarded, there is nothing about him that fits the newer adjective that so many are using. Everything about my Alex is good! Well, for the purpose of this story anyway. So lets get rid of it! It hurts to hear it!

http://www.r-word.org/

Choose Your Words Carefully ~~ Especially the R- Word

Sorry, folks! Soap box day !

Well, yesterday was the annual End the R-Word Day. The Special Olympics sponsored program had over 100,000 people sign the pledge to stop using the r-word. While it's nice to have a day of attention, it should only be the beginning. People should always be thoughtful of the words they choose.

My personal take on the word retarded is that it is a clinical term, mentally retarded describes a person's mental capabilities. Any other use of the word is just not good grammar. It's irresponsible to use the word outside of a clinical setting. Period!

As a parent of a special needs child with mental disabilities, I am pretty sensitive to the use of the word retard and I am not going to bore you with another story about it. You can read my first one if you'd like. http://1specialfamily.blogspot.com/2009/12/another-one-bites-dust-well-just-one.html

But don't stop there. Over the last few weeks, some pretty public people (and the political ones don't count) have shared some amazing stories on behalf of the Special Olympics campaign to End the R-Word. There is a button on my blog for you to go view some of those videos on their site. (Sign the pledge while you are there! )Here is one, though that threw me for a loop. Never in my wildest dreams could I have seen this one coming.

If Johnny Knoxville gets it, why doesn't every one else?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfMlrTV_5vY

A Path to Understanding

It's been awhile since I've posted, but a lot has happened. In my little world, at least!

Alex has reached some major milestones, again in our little world! I have been working on a project and had such little success that I think I might pass it on to you! Read on.... I have a rant!

Milestones, milestones, milestones . . . they are every where! They are on posters in every pediatrician's office, every childcare book, basically everywhere a parent looks. To a parent with special needs, though, imagine what those "milestone" posters represent?

All they said to me was, "Look here, another place your child is failing! Only now it's poster sized! - and in color!" Like I didn't feel bad enough that Alex wasn't walking at whatever months old he was supposed to! ( Can you see the good news here? I've already forgotten when he was SUPPOSED to do it!) He walks now, who cares when he started!

First words, puhhlease..... all I know is that it wasn't mama or dada, and it came way late! I do remember though, that when he was four or five, the speech therapist came running out to the carpool lane after school to tell me that Alex had dropped something and said "shit". She was so excited! Apparently that particular word contains a very hard consonant blend to make... and he used it in the appropriate context! Woohoo! Alex's first ten words, and one was a four letter word! with a difficult consonant blend! ...... Milestones

Potty training, that's a good milestone, too. I worked in a Mother's Day Out program for preschoolers for 10 years, special needs or not, there is about a six year window as to when a boy will use the toilet! I decided it's all about their mood, not their ability. And does it matter, as long as they can hit the urinal in junior high, or at the office? Does it really matter when they learned? And sometimes, they just can't!

Here's the thing, too. Say they haven't learned to walk or talk, or hit the urinal in junior high, so what? There are adaptations to assist them. Does that stuff even really matter to us in the big picture? That stuff is small potatoes! These people have much more difficult things to deal with! Small potatoes, I tell you!

Don't get me wrong, it is a daily struggle for people with special needs and their caretakers. It isn't easy, it isn't difficult, it is harder that heck for all involved! Actually, no one knows how hard it is until you have been in their shoes and the shoes of the people who take care of them.

This brings me to Alex's milestones. In our world, they are really inchstones. No one notices them but us. They are every bit as big as a baby's first steps, just very different.

Alex started and maintained a conversation. He spoke six sentences with eye contact and each response was appropriate and grammatically correct. He also did it twice. No biggie to most people, especially when you think of a thirteen year old. But for Alex, this is major! Never mind that he went into great (too much) detail about all the mechanical difficulties, both real and imagined, of our vehicles with his teacher. (Can DFS take kids away for parents driving crappy cars?) He also held a lengthy conversation with his speech therapist, again with eye contact! Yay, for Alex!

Alex also, showed a lot of independence this week. Poor kid got the flu. It is kind of sad for me, but for the first time, he didn't really want me around. He took care of himself. He went to bed when he had a fever, he knew when he needed ibuprofen, knew he needed to keep liquids down. Just very independent all around!

Mrs. Teacher has her class run a weekly coffee shop for the teachers and staff at school. She's done this all year and Alex has worked in it quite often. We think this has been a great opportunity for Alex and his class, but we didn't realize until just recently what exactly Alex's job was. When Dad took Alex to work at the coffee shop most recently, Alex was actually pouring hot coffee into the teacher's cups. Again, no big deal for a thirteen year old. Major inchstone for a kid who is as anxious and nervous as Alex. Mrs. Teacher must be very calming, and the rest of the teachers very unknowing! Another success for Alex!

Now for the tie in.....

The other day at school, during a free time sort of thing, the kids all headed to the commons area! At one table was Alex and his class, his special ed class. The other tables were packed with middle schoolers. Someone at a table made the comment, "I wish we were at the retards' table, they get to do all the easy stuff."

Well, yes, I guess in your world, they do "get" to do all the "easy" stuff. But for one second I want everyone to think about THEIR world! I guarantee you, those kids aren't doing the easy stuff! The stuff those kids were doing at that table was more work for them than anything that particular child could imagine. I am certain that they were reaching more milestones at Alex's table than at any other!

As difficult as it is for me to help Alex, I can't imagine how difficult it is for him to navigate through this world! We should all try to spend a day in his shoes!

With that I want to tell you, March 3, 2010 is the day set aside this year to End the R Word. There is a link to the sight on the right of my blog, CLICK IT, get involved, get your kids and their schools involved. The End the R word site has ideas for activities, posters and all kinds of ways to make a day of it! Take these things and your ideas to counselors, teachers, parent organizations and best of all, student leaders! People need to think about people with special needs, let's help them to do it! END THE WORD ON 3.3.10

THIS IS ONE LITTLE PATH THAT MAY LEAD TO A WORLD OF UNDERSTANDING !!!!!!!