im pissed when people say autism and ret*d interchangeably.

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i was playing poker with some friends when a ret*d came over to our table and grabbed one of my friends. my fiend said "haha that was disturbing i hate autistic people". i almost wanted to punch him but i didn't want to make a scene. i told him what he said was offensive and he said "ret*ds don't care what you say" i just let it go at that point there is really no point in talking to him. he wouldn't really understand and probably he would think i was weird and forget about it later.

He would be surprise of how much people on the MR spectrum understand.

I want to reply along the lines of "You should have told him x, y & z. Why didn't you tell him (something) and (other thing)?," but the fact is that you probably said more than I would have. I am always taken aback to the point that I simply don't know what to say at the time.

Seriously, though - is this someone you want to continue hanging out with? It sounds like he'd be pretty un-supportive if he found out what issues you have.

ZeroGravitas, I was thinking the same thing.

OP--you're just as bad. Just as rude and insensitive to mentally ret*d people as your "friend" was to you.

" a ret*d" come on. GeeZ...

I've called myself a social ret*d for fifteen years. And, its accurate. I have no plans on changing that assessment now that I know WHY I am socially ret*d.

It's a word. It only has the power you give it.

Calling yourself a social ret*d is different that referring to another person as "a ret*d".

There's a difference between claiming a word that is used perjoratively by the general public and using it subsersively to empower yourself, and how the OP used "ret*d".

And, no, a word is not just a word. Words are used to manipulate, control and have a great deal of power in society.

I had also noticed the irony because ret*d itself is a insult.

You don't want to be associated with "ret*ds"? Okay then. But don't blame them when they reject you right back.

Autistic people have a lot in common with people who have mental retardation, actually. Social skills come slowly to both groups; and we share the experience of disability and of not understanding things that most people do understand, having to learn things slowly and carefully that other people pick up quickly. Both autism and mental retardation are developmental disabilities; so we also share the experience of having different brains than the typical kids, and developing in different patterns than they do. Both autism and MR are associated with savant syndrome and other general neurological oddities, from epilepsy to sensory processing disorders. And both are extremely wide spectra which encompass a very wide range of expression.

Personally, I think you need to re-think this idea that we should distance ourselves. People with mental retardation are already standing up for themselves and their rights, and have been doing so somewhat longer than autistics have been doing it. If anything, we can learn from them. Uniting with people who have other disabilities makes a great deal more sense than accentuating the differences.

Everyone has said it but I wanted to say it myself. You calling someone a 'ret*d' is just as bad as your friend calling someone autistic.
Did you even get offended at the 'I hate autistics' parts or just the part where he/she stereotyped autism as being an intellectual disability? Which it actually can be by the way.

anyone who thinks i am ret*d will have to explain why they finished their life behind me if i give them the chance to explain.