This Mom Is Campaigning to Ban the "R-Word," and Honestly, It's About Damn Time

Heather McEntarfer, a mom from Fredonia, NY, was totally shocked to learn that the term "mentally retarded" was still used in official state paperwork to describe her 2-year-old son, Evan, who has Down syndrome. Although the "r-word" has been deleted from most people's vocabulary in this day and age, seeing it used on a formal document baffled Heather. She knew at that moment something needed to change.

"The way we use language matters," she told Today, adding that, "[The word 'retarded'] has been so stigmatized that it can no longer ever be just descriptive language. We use 'retarded' to mean 'dumb' or 'stupid' and we do that by pointing to people like my son and saying, 'You are like him.' That is both obviously offensive and also just inaccurate."

Rather than simply rolling her eyes and moving on at the sight of the word "retarded," Heather decided to take action by lodging a complaint with the state — and her efforts were far from futile. The term on the form Heather had previously filled out was apparently changed to "intellectual developmental disability," but that was only a drop in the activism bucket for this busy mom.

She started supporting a group dedicated to eliminating the use of the word once and for all — R-word: Spread the Word to End the Word — soon after, and is now advocating for the cause. The group, which is in its 10th year of advocacy, works around the clock to spread awareness of the stigma associated with the word "retard."

Soeren Palumbo founded the group back in college, and as the current communications manager for the Special Olympics, thinks the cause is more important now than ever. "It is very, very difficult to have an inclusive environment when we continue to use words that stigmatize, isolate, and exclude," he said.

Even though he agrees that progress had been made in terms of spoken word, he still sees the word used frequently on social media — and that needs to change ASAP. "There is still lots of work that needs to be done. We do need to pay more and more attention to what the conversation looks like online."

So far, 750,000 people have signed a pledge to stop using the r-word. And with World Down Syndrome Awareness Day falling on March 21 this year, we're hoping even more will follow suit.