Using the Word Retarded is Gay

Using the word “retarded” casually as an insult is highly offensive. People with developmental delays and other disabilities face many forms of discrimination and abuse, and language like that makes it easier for them to be victimized. Those who use the word not only look stupid, but can really hurt their audience.
“Don’t get retarded with [...]

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Riding the Short Bus

They changed the pick up point for my youngest; he now gets picked up in front of the house, not across the street.  So today I got to see him as the bus pulled away.  He looked at me briefly as they buckled him in, and then looked straight ahead. The thing about a [...]

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Patient Dignity

This week, I start a clinical component of my education, in a nursing home.  So, to prepare us, the school had us watch a 20 minute or so video put out by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.  It was about psychiatric issues in residential care facilities, including dementia.  It was very thorough, blunt, and educational.  [...]

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