Georgia Execution Halted

ATLANTA -- Condemned killer Warren Lee Hill, whose mental retardation claims have attracted international attention, was spared execution Tuesday night with less than an hour to go before he was to be put to death.
Hill had already been given a sedative to prepare for his lethal injection, shortly after the state parole board declined to commute Hill’s capital sentence and after the Georgia Supreme Court rejected his final appeal.

DSM Panel Shifts Course on Definition of Intellectual Disability, but Not Autism

Experts behind the new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders didn’t back down on major changes to the definition of autism, but appear to have made an about-face when it comes to intellectual disability.
Initial plans to revise the diagnosis of “mental retardation” in the forthcoming fifth edition of the psychiatric manual called for the condition to be renamed “intellectual developmental disorder.” Critics blasted the proposal because it was inconsistent with the more commonly accepted term “intellectual disability” which has already been adopted in many federal and state laws.

California Legislators Pass Bill to Drop 'R' Word

SACRAMENTO -- A bill awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature won't change any services, rights or responsibilities in state law. But to supporters, the bill's changes are critical: It would drop the words "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" from state regulations and publications.
The terms, which supporters of the bill say are outdated and offensive, would be replaced by "intellectual disability" and "person with an intellectual disability." The legislation, by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, passed unanimously in both the state Assembly and Senate last week.

DSM Panel Takes Heat Over Diagnosis Name

As experts behind a forthcoming update of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders look to revise psychiatry’s definition of “mental retardation” their efforts are becoming unexpectedly contentious.
Under a draft that’s currently open for public comment, experts working with the American Psychiatric Association are proposing that the name of the diagnosis be changed to “intellectual developmental disorder.”
What’s more, they’re looking to give more discretion to clinicians by putting less emphasis on IQ. While people qualifying for the diagnosis would still be required to score at least two standard deviations below average on such assessments, there would no longer be a bright-line IQ requirement of 70 or under.

Student Honored for Campaign Against 'R-Word'

BEDFORD, Texas -- Two years ago, Katie Pullano stood up to a teacher who used an offensive word during class.
"A teacher in the seventh grade said that something a student had done was retarded," said Pullano, a ninth-grader at Harwood Junior High School. "I told her the connotation of the word doesn't come off right. She shouldn't be teaching it to teens."
An argument ensued but, Pullano said, the teacher eventually accepted her position and respected her objection.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/05/20/3973833/bedford-ninth-grader-honored-for.html#storylink=cpy

Intelligence Insults Should Insult Our Intelligence

Came across a Raise the Hammer, a website run by a group of Hamilton, Ontario, citizens who believe in their city's potential and are willing to get involved in making the city a more vibrant, livable, and attractive place to live and work. 

Moron. Idiot. Imbecile. Feebleminded.

No, I'm not quoting a Python skit. I'm listing some clinical classifications, no longer in use, except as socially acceptable descriptors of individuals with whom we may disagree, or whose expertise we doubt.

Retarded.
As in, "That's retarded."
Socially acceptable? That depends. If you're a comedy host for the CBC (Clash of Comedy website in Canada), apparently it is.

Missouri Strikes the 'R Word' From Statutes

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- With the stroke of a pen, the term "mental retardation" has been struck from all Missouri state statutes and replaced with language deemhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifed less offensive by disability rights advocates.
Tuesday, Gov. Jay Nixon sign House Bills 555 and 648 which, among other things, replace the pejorative term "retardation" with the "intellectual disability." The new laws also promote awareness and increase public accessibility standards for people with disabilities.

Arizona Removing 'R' Word from Statutes

Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and his family were among the roughly two dozen individuals who attended a ceremonial bill signing in Gov. Jan Brewer's office Thursday, celebrating passage of legislation that removes the words "mental retardation" and "crippled" from state statutes.
Special Olympics Arizona brought the issue to the attention of lawmakers. It is part of a larger nationwide effort called "Spread the Word to End the Word." According to the Special Olympics website, the campaign aims to eliminate the use of the word "retarded" from the everyday vernacular, calling it both demeaning and offensive.

Effort Seeks to End Use of 'R' Word

When Eileen Cavalier of Rochester hears someone insultingly use the word "retarded," she speaks up. Her 18-month-old son has Down syndrome.
"You realize when you say that, you're making fun of people like my son, Rory," she says. People are quick to say they mean no harm, but she tells them the word is still hurtful.

Effort to Remove 'R' Word Rejected

Unfortunately, you can't make this type of story up. Just pathetic that in this day and age people with intellectual disabilities are still being referred to by a phrase that is so stigmatizing that most states have removed it from offices and state legislation. What's it going to take to wake folks up in Virginia?

The Virginia House of Delegates on Wednesday rejected an attempt to remove the words "mental retardation" from a bill that seeks to appropriate $30 million to a special fund to move residents of the state's training centers into community-based housing.
Del. Robin Abbott, D-Newport News, asked legislators to change the phrase "mental retardation" to read "intellectual and developmental disabilities."
"These words are very damaging and hurtful and there is no excuse for them to be in our code today," Abbott said.
House members rejected Abbott's request, not because members liked the term "mental retardation," but because those words already appear in many places in the state code.