The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Sparkles
July 15, 2015-TCS # 457
Howdy, My Readers! Thought I would do different greetings every now and then. “Howdy”, by the way, said better as “Howdy Y’all”, is What we say in Texas to say hello. Y’all, by the way is Texas Short-Hand for You All. Anyway, on to This Week’s Newsletter! So, Among the Many Things that us Young Adult PTLSers talked about at The PTLS Conference was The Meaning of Different Words that People used to refer to those with Special Needs. Also, How do we feel about “having Special Needs”? Well, The Truth is that I am aware that I have Special Needs, I embrace the Fact that I have Potocki-Lupski Syndrome, but at The Same Time, It is NOT Me. Not in the Way of Denial but, In a Way, that I personally don’t see that I have Special Needs because I am just Me, Christian. It might also help to the fact that I have had Potocki-Lupski Syndrome or Duplication 17p11.2 for My Whole Life, so really I don’t know any different. So, About The Words to refer to One with Special Needs, There are 4 Terms to use. A Disability, Handicap, Mentally Retarded or The R-Word of All Variations, and Someone with Special Needs. I, as well the Young PTLS Adults would prefer The Last One. Another One is that People think that PTLS is a Disease and I can assure you that It is Not. PTLS just happens, No Other Way to Explain It, It just happens. I see it more like it is a Serendipitous Accident, in other words, it is part of Your Destiny somehow. Anyway, Let’s Examine these Words. Now, I know that Words are Words but Many of These Words have Meanings. First Word is Disability. Disability, as My Young PTLS Adult Friend from The Conference says and The Word, Dis means, Anti or Against Something. In Other Words, You can not do XYZ. Ability, however means that You can do something. So, to refer to Me as Disabled means that I can’t do all the Things I want to do in Life and That is NOT True! Now, to be fair, There are People who are Truly “Disabled”, It is harder to do things but, They are Strong Enough to try their Hardest at it. The Next Word is Handicapped, Because I am able to Walk and Function as Typical as I can, that does not apply to Me. Respectfully, There are People that are Handicapped, even those that Do not have Special Needs. The Best Thing that You can do is ask if They need Help, if They do then, Help them and Mission Accomplished, They will be Grateful to You. If Not, then that is Okay too. Now, Here comes a Word that I do not like to Say Often, nor do I like to be called. Now, This Word comes from The Fact that People like to Compare Kids that have Special Needs versus Those that Don’t and Sometimes, It turns Ugly. We refer to it as The R-Word, Retard (Sorry Kids!). Now, The Word, “Retard” is actually a Cooking Term. You Know, when You are cooking something and The Fire from The Pan gets too High, You have to retard it. This is The Pleasant Way that I see that word’s use. However, The Government at one time used the Word “Mentally Retarded” or “Mental Retardation” to mean Someone with Special Needs, doesn’t sound too bad, right? After Rosa’s Law, It is now “Intellectual Disability”. Now, You drop The Word “Mentally” off That Phrase and that is when It is meant for Harm toward those with Special Needs. People say it in a Funny or Stupid Way, like “Ohh, That’s so Retarded” or “Your So Retarded” (pointing at Whomever did something Stupid, not meant toward Someone with Special Needs). I had a Friend that said that a lot and It annoyed me each time He said it because Said Person had Special Needs! Luckily though, There is a Campaign out there called “Spread The Word to End The Word” (STW, I call it for short) It is at www.r-word.org, Sign the Petition and Stop using The R-Word! And, finally, The Phrase that I would rather be referred to as “Someone with Special Needs” because that is Me, “Someone with Special Needs”, better yet a “A Person with Special Needs” because after all, I am a Person, just like You. A bonus with This Phrase is that it applies across The Board and does not in any way Offend anyone or Make Someone feel Different. So, What about The Other Words, Can I use them too? I would prefer that You not, but If You have to, Change The Words around so They sound better. Disability, How about Differently Abled (regardless whether They are actually “Disabled” or Not). Handicapped, That One can not be changed much because it applies to those are a Truly Handicapped, but Don’t use it on Me because I don’t see myself as “Handicapped”! Mentally Retarded, All Versions of The Word should be Taken Away except for The Original Meaning, which is for Cooking. and, Someone, Person, or People with Special Needs is probably the Best Word to use. All in all, The Point here is that I am just like You. Yes, I may need a bit of Help in certain areas and Treated Kindly, but I deserve to be treated as if I was like Everyone Else. No Comparing, No Name Calling, and PTLS is NOT a Disease, It is Only a Label!
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. We are all part of The World, We should Treat each other as Human Beings!
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