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sinsboldly
Free Range Aspie
Joined: Nov 22, 2006
Age: 57
Posts: 8059
Location: Oregon, USA
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 Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:00 pm Post subject: Why is Ohio Retarded but Connecticut Isn't? (Article) |
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ARTICLE FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST
by Kim Stagliano
You've probably heard of the uproar over the use of the word "retard" in the new Ben Stiller movie, Tropic Thunder. It has practically whitewashed the fact that Robert Downey Jr.'s character performs in blackface. No small feat.
As a writer, and the mother of three girls with autism, I choose my words carefully when writing about people with disabilities. Not because I have a need to be politically correct. I can be as vulgar and irreverent as Ben Stiller or even the Farrelly brothers (hang on, I have to kneel for a moment to thank God for the Farrelly brothers.) Inside this middle aged woman lives the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy. My Sirius XM radio alternates between channel 75 (Siriusly Sinatra) and Howard 100, where the Howard Stern show airs all day long.
I try to avoid using the term autistic to describe a person - except in cases where brevity is a requirement, like a headline. I dislike calling my own kids autistic. It says so much, yet tells so little about them. They have autism. But autism is not who they are.
Is the person with an IQ of 70 (the psychiatric cut off point for "mental retardation") damaged compared to his friend with an IQ of 71? I don't think so. If you want to grab one more book for end of summer reading, buy Lottery from Patricia Wood. It's about a man with a borderline IQ who wins $12,000,000 in the Lottery. We should all be as smart as main character Perry L. Crandall. OK, back on track. I'm home with the three girls and it's hard to keep my focus. I think I just put laundry in the dishwasher.
I've noticed that the nomenclature rules seem to change by disease and diagnosis. For instance, children with cancer are never called cancerous. Yet children with diabetes are diabetic. People with Down syndrome are not "Downers" (pun fully intended.) There's no rhyme or reason why a gnarled grandmother is called arthritic and yet her husband has Alzheimers. We aren't calling him Alzheimerian... yet. Speaking of which...
My friend John Robison, (Augusten Burrough's big brother and author of the memoir Look Me In The Eye) calls himself "Aspergian," preferring that name to the snake-like sound of "Aspie." Since he has Asperger's, I think he should be allowed to call himself whatever he wants. It's when others decide the word is a pejorative and use it with malice that the word morphs into something sinister.
But what about when it's a state that uses the term? Ohio still has "MRDD" which is the Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability Services. Connecticut has "DDS" which is the Department of Developmental Disability Services. What does your state call its department? Surely Ohio intends no malice, and yet it appears to be painfully out of date, out of touch with the times. Or is it? Tropic Thunder may make Ohio au courant after all.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-stagliano/why-is-ohio-retarded-but_b_120021.html |
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Danielismyname
Troglodyte descended
Joined: Apr 03, 2007
Posts: 5926
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:50 am Post subject: Re: Why is Ohio Retarded but Connecticut Isn't? (Article) |
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| sinsboldly wrote: | | I try to avoid using the term autistic to describe a person - except in cases where brevity is a requirement, like a headline. I dislike calling my own kids autistic. It says so much, yet tells so little about them. They have autism. But autism is not who they are. |
And:
| Quote: | It's when others decide the word is a pejorative and use it with malice that the word morphs into something sinister.
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She hit it there.
(As of note, Downey has me laughing like a moron every time I think of him in said movie.) |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4242
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 2:07 am Post subject: |
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I just left Ohio, and FWIW, their services for autistics suck, at least in the areas I was. In school, I was forced to drop IEP and all accommodations in order to enroll in gifted courses, even though that's a clear violation of ADA. And diagnostic services are difficult to find.
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WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4242
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 2:08 am Post subject: Re: Why is Ohio Retarded but Connecticut Isn't? (Article) |
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| Danielismyname wrote: | | sinsboldly wrote: | | I try to avoid using the term autistic to describe a person - except in cases where brevity is a requirement, like a headline. I dislike calling my own kids autistic. It says so much, yet tells so little about them. They have autism. But autism is not who they are. |
And:
| Quote: | It's when others decide the word is a pejorative and use it with malice that the word morphs into something sinister.
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She hit it there. |
But what about when autistics are offended by being called "people with autism" and prefer to be called autistic?
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WAR IS PEACE
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sinsboldly
Free Range Aspie
Joined: Nov 22, 2006
Age: 57
Posts: 8059
Location: Oregon, USA
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:25 am Post subject: Re: Why is Ohio Retarded but Connecticut Isn't? (Article) |
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| Orwell wrote: | | Danielismyname wrote: | | sinsboldly wrote: | | I try to avoid using the term autistic to describe a person - except in cases where brevity is a requirement, like a headline. I dislike calling my own kids autistic. It says so much, yet tells so little about them. They have autism. But autism is not who they are. |
And:
| Quote: | It's when others decide the word is a pejorative and use it with malice that the word morphs into something sinister.
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She hit it there. |
But what about when autistics are offended by being called "people with autism" and prefer to be called autistic? |
I remember in the 1950's when blacks were deciding what they wanted to define themselves as, rather than be defined by the other. And gays came to be known as what they wanted to be defined as rather than being defined by the "other."
I always thought that is what being politically correct was. . allowing people to define themselves rather than be defined by others.
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I freed thousands of slaves; I could have freed more if they knew they were slaves.
-Harriet Tubman |
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philosopherBoi
Phoenix
Joined: Aug 07, 2008
Age: 20
Posts: 1019
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:48 am Post subject: |
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| I like this Kim Stagliano if I am going to be labeled I would really prefer to use one I can live with instead of what NTs come up with. |
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Danielismyname
Troglodyte descended
Joined: Apr 03, 2007
Posts: 5926
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:26 am Post subject: |
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Orwell,
People can call themselves whatever they like, and take offense to the same likeness.
To me, it's like someone calling themselves a "black person", "cancerous person", "retarded person"; there's nothing to these descriptions but what the viewer sees with his or her biases. If I'm an "Autistic person", people will see me through whatever set of eyes they have, and what "Autistic" means to them.
Whilst it's "pervasive", "Autistic" is only a small part of who I actually am; it'd be just as descriptive to call myself a "white person", and equally silly if I want others to view me without bias.
I'm a person, nothing more, nothing less (whatever label or skin colour I have, it doesn't define me as a person). |
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beau99
B.S. Detector
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Joined: Nov 06, 2007
Age: 22
Posts: 1308
Location: A cruel H*llhole called Earth.
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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| philosopherBoi wrote: | | I like this Kim Stagliano |
Except that she's notorious for being a curebie.
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My site: Thoughts of an Autistic (updated May 20, 2008)
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benjimanbreeg
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 1494
Location: uk, the ancient mariner, transylvania or planet me, oh yeah sometimes at 22 acacia avenue
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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| lol |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4242
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Danielismyname wrote: | Whilst it's "pervasive", "Autistic" is only a small part of who I actually am; it'd be just as descriptive to call myself a "white person", and equally silly if I want others to view me without bias.
I'm a person, nothing more, nothing less (whatever label or skin colour I have, it doesn't define me as a person). |
Yes, but again, if the label is to be used at all, I am an autistic person, not a person with autism. I am a white person, not a person with whiteness.
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WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH |
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benjimanbreeg
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 1494
Location: uk, the ancient mariner, transylvania or planet me, oh yeah sometimes at 22 acacia avenue
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: | | Danielismyname wrote: | Whilst it's "pervasive", "Autistic" is only a small part of who I actually am; it'd be just as descriptive to call myself a "white person", and equally silly if I want others to view me without bias.
I'm a person, nothing more, nothing less (whatever label or skin colour I have, it doesn't define me as a person). |
Yes, but again, if the label is to be used at all, I am an autistic person, not a person with autism. I am a white person, not a person with whiteness. |
lmao |
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philosopherBoi
Phoenix
Joined: Aug 07, 2008
Age: 20
Posts: 1019
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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| beau99 wrote: | | philosopherBoi wrote: | | I like this Kim Stagliano |
Except that she's notorious for being a curebie. |
We can help her with that unlike most stupid NTs this one has hope. |
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sinsboldly
Free Range Aspie
Joined: Nov 22, 2006
Age: 57
Posts: 8059
Location: Oregon, USA
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| beau99 wrote: | | philosopherBoi wrote: | | I like this Kim Stagliano |
Except that she's notorious for being a curebie. |
of course you can back this up with references?
Merle
_________________
I freed thousands of slaves; I could have freed more if they knew they were slaves.
-Harriet Tubman |
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Danielismyname
Troglodyte descended
Joined: Apr 03, 2007
Posts: 5926
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 1:01 am Post subject: |
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Orwell,
If labels are important; there's about a zillion people will need to apply to themselves if they're to be seen as who they actually are, i.e., I'm an Autistic, white, blah, blah, blah, blah, ad infinitum, person. With all of these attached, people may have a better insight into who I am compared to that single label reference, like "Autistic person".
I am a person who is melanin deficient [for where I now live].  |
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westernwild
Toucan
Joined: Oct 13, 2007
Posts: 255
Location: The wild, wild West
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| Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:11 am Post subject: |
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LOL. I was born and raised in Ohio, with the exception of a few years as a child in South Dakota, and lived there until I was forty, a few years ago; I now live permanently in South Dakota. I can definitely tell you that Ohio is, indeed, "retarded", in many senses of the word. Even though most of my family and lifelong friends remain there, I will never go back except to visit. This doesn't surprise me at all.
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