Speaking of Autism Awareness Month! Since I GOT TIME. The word “retarded” let’s talk about it

If you know me personally I CALL PEOPLE out on this 24/7! So I’m not just chattin on twitter about this, it genuinely pisses me off but anyway

Originally the terms “mental retardation” or “mentally retarded” were medical terms with a specific clinical meaning. Thankfully, the word has been replaced by the term “intellectual disability” because it is more accurate and accepting

The definition of the word retarded, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary is “Offensive: slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development”

Today it is is used as a synonym “dumb” or “slow”. When you use it like this, it is equivalent to saying people with disabilities are stupid. Therefore, the REAL message of the sentence is lost because the r-word has a completely different meaning than the words stupid/dumb

The word is an exclusive term that furthers negative stereotypes about people with disabilities. Like any other stereotype, it makes people feel less valued!!!!

So before you send me blue hearts and “100” to my tweet/stories about autism please think twice about how loosely you use this term. ‘Tis all