Iowa Leaders Take A Stand To End The "R-Word"
By: CNN News
Updated: March 8, 2012
Iowa leaders are taking a stand to end the "R-word."
A bill passed this week that will change any reference to "mental retardation" in the Iowa code to "intellectual disability."
Meanwhile, this entire week at Loras College, students are spreading the word to end the word.
"I think it's one of the most hurtful words in the English language," says student Katie Kasten. "I think that when people use it, they often times don't really understand the implications."
Kasten says she regularly hears fellow students using the "R-word" as a negative term.
"People with intellectual disabilities are not dumb or stupid in any way. They just learn differently."
A sentiment Bill Stumpf, whose son Kyle has Down Syndrome, couldn't agree with more.
"Unfortunately, in the past, it was a way to define people," says Stumpf. "And in the early days, it probably wasn't meant as a negative thing, you know, but it's sort of turned into that."
A bill passed this week that will change any reference to "mental retardation" in the Iowa code to "intellectual disability."
Meanwhile, this entire week at Loras College, students are spreading the word to end the word.
"I think it's one of the most hurtful words in the English language," says student Katie Kasten. "I think that when people use it, they often times don't really understand the implications."
Kasten says she regularly hears fellow students using the "R-word" as a negative term.
"People with intellectual disabilities are not dumb or stupid in any way. They just learn differently."
A sentiment Bill Stumpf, whose son Kyle has Down Syndrome, couldn't agree with more.
"Unfortunately, in the past, it was a way to define people," says Stumpf. "And in the early days, it probably wasn't meant as a negative thing, you know, but it's sort of turned into that."
