Spread the Word to End the Word
Young people around the world are taking a stand and raising awareness of the dehumanizing and hurtful affects of the words “retard” and “retarded” and are helping encourage others to think before they speak. Over the years, the R-Word has become a common taunt used to make fun of others.
We ask that you help us change the conversation by helping to eliminate the demeaning use of the R-word and replace it with “respect.” This will help create a more accepting world for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and all those people that may appear different, but have unique gifts and talents to share with the world.
Replace the R-word with Respect
2011 News
On Wednesday, March 2, 2011, members of the Appleton store teamed up with Special Olympics-Fox Valley Region to raise awareness and money for Special Olympic athletes. Read more
2010 News
March 3, 2010 is the Special Olympics day of awareness and we are encouraging everyone to visit www.r-word.org and make their pledge to not use the R-word. Our goal is to reach 100,000 pledges by March 3rd
The following Wisconsin communities held events on March 3, 2010
- Thorp Catholic Schools
- Middleton High School
- Medford High School
- Sheboygan North High School
- Sheboygan School District
- Madison West High School
- Monona Grove High School
- Verona High School
- LaFollette High School in Madison
-
Washington Junior High School
in
Manitowoc
Photos and video
Special Olympics Wiscosnin athletes, Best Buddies volunteers and students encouraged Middleton High School students to pledge to stop saying the R-word on March 3rd..
2009 News
On March 31, Special Olympics kicked off the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign to help teach the public about the harmful effects that the R-word, retard, has on Special Olympics athletes and others with cognitive disabilities.
Over the years, the R-word has become a common taunt used to make fun of others. Often unwittingly, the word is used to denote behavior that is clumsy, hapless, and even hopeless. But whether intentional or not, the word conjures up a painful stereotype of people with cognitive disabilities.
In Wisconsin, students and educators in several communities are helping to spread the word that the R-word should be replaced with Respect. Some communities and schools participated in the March 31 kickoff date to Spread the Word to end the Word while others decided to plan activities for a later time. Here’s how some Wisconsin communities have participated so far:
Madison West students spread the word to end the word
Madison
At Madison West High School, about a dozen students got together to End the Word. The night before the kickoff, they baked chocolate chip cookies and made stickers that said “I’m ending the R-Word.”
During lunch the next day, students asked their peers to sign pledge sheets that said “I pledge to do my best to stop using the words ‘retard’ and ‘retarded' and to encourage others to do the same. Students who agreed to sign the pledge form received a cookie, a sticker and an information sheet. In one day, the students gathered 698 pledges!
Bowler
Anne Smith’s 5th grade class at Bowler Elementary school has taken the project on and hopes to make the school R-word Free. Students made posters in class and covered the walls. Students also decided to begin a penny war, where students bring in pennies which add up to donations for Special Olympics.
Sheboygan
In Sheboygan, some educators wore Spread the Word to End the word T-shirts at Farnsworth Middle School and South High School. The shirts opened up a dialogue with the students and administrators about the R-word.
Platteville
At the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, the Student Affairs Office and Student Housing office have provided information to their live-in staff to start discussions, bulletin boards and other programs.UW-The live-in staff (Resident Directors, Resident Assistants, Senior Assistants) in the dorms have actively spread the word to students across the campus.
Special Olympics Wisconsin Athlete Input Council
The Athlete Input Council, which is comprised of Special Olympics Wisconsin athlete leaders from across the state, took on the R-word campaign. Athlete Input Council member Martha Hill brought the campaign to her workplace at Woodlake Market in Kohler where she stuffed grocery bags with cards that had the Spread the Word to end the Word logo, websites and “Let the world know that the word ‘retard’ hurts. Other members of the Athlete Input Council hope to write letters to their representatives and ask their area schools to join in the campaign.
How the campaign started
Created by young people with and without cognitive disabilities, Spread the Word to End the Word is one element of Special Olympics’ vision of a world where everyone matters, where everyone is accepted and, most importantly, where everyone is valued. Leading the way in promoting acceptance of people with cognitive disabilities, Special Olympics opposes prejudice and discrimination, continuously working to dispel the negative stereotypes associated with this population -- the use of the R-word being one such stereotype. In a world that has worked to eliminate racial put-downs and such as the “N word,” among others, the R-word is gaining popularity.
Links - how to get involved
Check out this compilation of three-word videos created by students from the University of Miami in response to this question. Watch the video.
Project Unify Blog
For more information, contact
10224 N. Port Washington Rd.
Mequon, WI 53092
(262) 241-7786
(800) 924-5202
Special Olympics Wisconsin
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