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[quote=Anonymous][quote=cjjaffe]The term "mental retardation" has been replaced in federal statutes with the term "intellectual disability" per Congress's passage of Rosa's law in 2010 due to its negative connotation.  Even though much of the general public is not aware of this change, those who have a child with special needs certainly are.  Therefore, I am requesting that the code "MR" for "Mentally Retarded" be changed to "ID" for "Intellectually Disabled".[/quote]

Interesting issue.  I always find that it's tough to balance the individual and Congressionally granted rights and responsibilities against those needs of the people within the forums still only familiar with the colloquialisms of the day.  One thing that I would note is that Intellectually Disabled is a nebulous phrase, one that could apply to a host of disabilities.  The ease with which MR is understood by the casual observers and commenters of the forum (never mind the parents who need help) is also an argument in its favor.  What we get, then, is the question:  How normative do we want our terms to be?  And is it worse for those who will likely not read the forum to have the help they need, or to be referred to in a less accurate, but clearly more dignified manner.  Even the removal of terms like "idiot," "imbecile," and others once referred to a specific range of IQ, one that might even be more helpful to this forum because of the ease with which those who have loved ones with those disorders can separate and associate together, sharing the information and discussing the common experiences that bind them together because of the ranges themselves.

So at the end of the day, which is it?  Accuracy and ease of identification or normative standards for language and its referents.   [/quote]

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