The California Senate recently passed a bill that would permanently remove “the R word” from laws and other provisions. The purpose is to remove the word, (or the phrase), because it can be used to bully people who have certain types of special needs. It is also an outdated term, that should be updated. The California Senate unanimously passed a bill called SB 1381. Before it can become a law, it will also have to be passed by the California House of Representatives, and then signed by the Governor. If SB 1381 becomes a law, it means that California will … Continue reading →

There is a brand new movie called “21 Jump Street”. It is about two underachieving police officers that are assigned to blend in at a high school in order to bring down a drug ring. In this movie, the police captain uses the word “autisic” as an insult. The new movie “21 Jump Street” seems to be very loosely based on the main concept of the television program of the same name. Two young looking police officers, (played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum), are given the undercover assignment of blending in with teenagers at a high school, for the … Continue reading →

On October 8, 2010, President Obama signed Rosa’s Law into effect. Although the day came and went without a huge amount of fan fare, it was a historic day for both our country and for the Marcellinos family, whose daughter Rosa is the face behind the law. Rosa has Down syndrome, and when her school labeled her as mentally retarded, her family began their mission to remove the word retarded from government language. Their quest began in their home state of Maryland with big brother Nick speaking up for his sister in front of state government officials. The fight then … Continue reading →

The use of the word “retard” is abundant in our popular culture these days. But just as other words have been become culturally unacceptable, so should this one. It is offensive to a large group of our fellow Americans (and fellow humans throughout the world) and is often used in a derogatory way such as when Jennifer Aniston jokingly said, “I play dress up. I do it for a living, like a retard” in an interview on Regis and Kelly in August of 2010. Most of us don’t think about those we are offending, and sometimes words just slip out. … Continue reading →

A three year old girl named Amelia has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. She also needs a kidney transplant. Her mother claims that a doctor has denied her daughter’s transplant specifically because her daughter is developmentally delayed. This has created a ton of controversy across the internet. Chrissy Rivera is a mother of three children. She has two sons who are healthy. She also has a three year old daughter, named Amelia, who has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. This is a chromosomal disorder that is caused by a partial deletion of the short arm of chromosome 4. It is something that an infant is born … Continue reading →