Bar The R-Word

Last week, I was in Idaho at the Special Olympics Youth Activation Summit. Well, when I was there, we talked a lot about how people use the word “retard” in really insensitive ways. We talked about how it effects other people, how much it hurts, and most important, how to STOP this from happening.

The r-word hurts. Even though many people are trying to keep others from saying it, it’s a big part of many kids’ vocabulary. I remember when we did our first session on trying to stop it from spreading, a man in our group said that it’s set in stone in our minds, and that some people say it without even trying to. I think that this is true, but horrible. I don’t think that it has to be, it just is.

We also talked about how the r-word is supposed to be for doctors to use. That’s how it was developed. It’s not acceptable that we turned something for medical uses into something that is an insult.

The Special Olympics’ site is raising awareness by asking others to make videos, write songs, or speak to others about the r-word. These are a couple  videos I liked. In the next few weeks, I’m going to be doing some work to “curb the word” as my friend Noah’s mom says. I’ll let you know what I’m up to as I plan. In the meantime, tell me what you think kids can do to prevent others from using this word in such a negative way.

THE NEW R-WORD IS RESPECT!!

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The Special Olympics

“Let me win. But if I cannot  win, let me be brave in the attempt.”- The Special Olympics Athlete’s Oath

I think that quote is important to think of whenever you are competing in something. The Special Olympics is a non profit organization that was founded in 1968 and is held all over the world. They want to help kids and adults with intellectual disbilities to become healthier. I’ll be spending some time this year focusing on this because I was asked to go to Idaho this year, where the Special Olympics World Games are to attend the Global Youth Summit that  is linked to this organization.

One of the things I’ve learned a lot about over the last year is that some nonprofits really try to make a place for kids who want to make a difference. When they do this, it helps us feel more welcome and this way, we might want to help that group for a long time. The Special Olympics is like this, and I am really excited that Andrea Kahn called me and asked me if I would like to join the Global Youth Summit. I get to go there in February, and I plan to spend this much learning as much as I can about how I can serve this organization well. I plan to blog about what I learn here and about my experiences at the Global Youth Summit too.

I also plan to start sharing ideas for how kids can make a difference doing small things as often as I can. I’m learning a lot about this, and I hope that I can learn more but connecting to others who do the same thing.