tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post8675866222435584635..comments2024-02-25T10:24:30.868-05:00Comments on Special needs disability parenting BLOOM: The R-word: It's a hateful slur that's got to goBLOOM - Parenting Kids With Disabilitieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06901482901008135659noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-9689752213569399752010-06-27T01:52:08.057-04:002010-06-27T01:52:08.057-04:00I had my own experience w/ this word just this pas...I had my own experience w/ this word just this past week....at the bank and of all reasons to open an RDSP for my son. When I got to my appointment they explained to me that they do not have an RDSP specialist at our branch and had no plans of training one and that I would have to drive an hour to the next branch in another town to open one. I asked them if they found it odd that they have accessibility issues to resolve when it comes to opening up an RDSP for one's self or their child....the response from the bank employee..."I know, it's retarded". My immediate thought, simply put was "wow".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-13627816205589599632010-05-12T10:09:34.738-04:002010-05-12T10:09:34.738-04:00I am shocked that our educators don't take as ...I am shocked that our educators don't take as much care with the R word as they do with the N word. The middle school I went to had a class of children with mental retardation. (This was back in the 70's when kids were lumped into class groupings based on IQ). I was one of the kids who played with them on the playground every day. I found them a lot more humane and easy to be with than the "regular" kids in the rest of the school. I was never taunted or bullied by them, but I was taunted and bullied by kids in the rest of the school. <br /><br />I refused to have an amnio with my second pregnancy (I was over 40) because to me, while the amniocentesis is a diagnostic test, it seems to fall into a subtle eugenics program where parents are aborting "imperfect" children, and I wonder if this social trend, aided by science and medicine, will lead to fewer and fewer people with all kinds of disabilities... and whether that will in turn lead us back to more stigma and less understanding for disabilities.Gaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-48899536696774645262010-03-04T18:01:36.543-05:002010-03-04T18:01:36.543-05:00Thank you so much for your wonderful post. It'...Thank you so much for your wonderful post. It's when we stop examining our own prejudices and short-comings that we stop evolving. Our growth should not be measured simply by what we acquire (intellectually and otherwise), but by those qualities in ourselves we recognize it is time to leave behind. All the best to you and your family...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-35128162360326394012010-03-01T10:12:36.436-05:002010-03-01T10:12:36.436-05:00Hi Emma -- thanks so much for your message. It mak...Hi Emma -- thanks so much for your message. It makes me very sad, too, to think that people associate human worth with economic contribution. What about character or heart contribution? But I don't believe any life needs to be "justified" by any kind of contribution. It has value because it is.BLOOM - Parenting Kids With Disabilitieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901482901008135659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-12432349040866583832010-03-01T10:08:54.760-05:002010-03-01T10:08:54.760-05:00Hi Elizabeth -- I wasn't familiar with a lot o...Hi Elizabeth -- I wasn't familiar with a lot of the history of violence against people with intellectual disabilities. I look forward to seeing your piece this Wed! LouiseBLOOM - Parenting Kids With Disabilitieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901482901008135659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-77166193301654010862010-03-01T10:07:12.121-05:002010-03-01T10:07:12.121-05:00Hi Pat -- Thank you for sharing your story. I hope...Hi Pat -- Thank you for sharing your story. I hope we get to hear more about your daughter! LouiseBLOOM - Parenting Kids With Disabilitieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901482901008135659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-54849254521424511152010-03-01T04:53:17.608-05:002010-03-01T04:53:17.608-05:00“It’s not what I thought it was.”
It's not wha...“It’s not what I thought it was.”<br />It's not what I thought it was either - and that's important, my thinking as many other peoples is, was influenced by very wrong information, and that includes people in the health profession, those advising us as to prenatal screening. Being a doctor doesn't give one knowledge into raising and living with a child or adult with intellectual disability.<br /><br />Society is very obsessed with the idea of "contribution to society", whether that be financial or intellectual. That intellect is highly valued is obvious in the way people treat each other everyday. It saddens me. That we feel the need to feel "better" than others in some way or other, what is that?<br /><br />As far as I'm concerned there is no better or worse, just "is".emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04195918097785592926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-10778302036391967322010-02-28T19:20:54.393-05:002010-02-28T19:20:54.393-05:00I have also planned a post for Wednesday -- the Sp...I have also planned a post for Wednesday -- the Special Olympics pledge, etc. Thanks, again, for the inspiration.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03313726816776097840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-55617545342861079282010-02-27T22:19:50.891-05:002010-02-27T22:19:50.891-05:00Thank you so much for sharing your story and all o...Thank you so much for sharing your story and all of this information. I admit to not being that concerned about the word, despite my daughter having its label. However, the more I read impassioned words like yours, the more I am swayed toward an equally vociferous response to its use at all.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03313726816776097840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447392662850613354.post-77837390312116728982010-02-26T17:30:17.535-05:002010-02-26T17:30:17.535-05:00Words can never hurt you, sure they can. As a Mot...Words can never hurt you, sure they can. As a Mother of a 29 year old special needs daughter I brought up my 5 other children to never use the "R" word in our home. Just recently a family friend was sharing a story about her father, to my mother, that included referring to someone as the retard. I wanted to scream, has society not evolved at all that people still use this word. Generally I correct anyone using that word but for some reason that day I did not, maybe because I was tired from being in Emergency all day with my Mother that I had slipped. This story helped remind me why I explained to family, friends, co-workers why they should not use that word, how it can hurt. I must not slip again. Thanks so much for sharing your story. Pat A (Penobsquis, NB)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com