‘They are people first’
February 26th, 2008From the Casper [Wyoming] Star-Tribune:
People with disabilities are lobbying the Wyoming legislature this week to eliminate the term “mentally retarded” from state statutes and other official documents and replace it with “intellectualy disabled” or some other more compassionate phrase.
What’s different about this latest push to update the terminology is that people with disabilities are leading the charge, said Doreen Crowser, executive director of the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Crowser’s own group, a professional association that supports people with developmental disabilities, last year changed its name from the American Association of Mental Retardation.
“It’s people with disabilities that have really taken a leadership on this,” Crowser said. “They really dislike the mental retardation terminology.”
See earlier post.
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