Spread the word to end the R-word.

Nurses know that the term 'retarded' is outdated. However, it is not widely known that there is now a law that mandates use of updated terminology. Rosa's Law changes references in Federal statues on topics of health, education and employment that currently refer to "mental retardation" to refer, instead, to "intellectual disability." Rosa's law was signed by President Obama October 6, 2010. Unfortunately the DSM-IV still utilizes the outdated language.

Student nurses at the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) convention held in Salt Lake City passed Resolution 2: IN SUPPORT OF INCREASED AWARENESS OF ROSA'S LAW WHICH CHANGES THE TERM "MENTALLY RETARDED" TO "INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY." This resolution passed NSNA House of Delegates without rebuttal. All nurses are now being called to action and are encouraged to support the national awareness campaign promoted by Special Olympics called Spread the Word to End the R-word. This year the event was held March 7 but anytime is the right time to add your name and commit to end using the r-word.

1. Every nurse can go to www.r-word.org and sign a pledge to personally eliminate the use of this word in daily practice or choose to create a Spread the Word to End the R-Word within their community. Event ideas are outlined below.

2. CNA members are encouraged to contact publishers of nursing material including textbooks and nursing articles to update outdated terminology. Please request that the term "intellectual disability" be used in place of the term "mentally retarded" when such language is found in print.

The goal of Resolution 2 is to create awareness within the nursing and student nursing community to join together in a common voice to clearly state to the American Psychiatric Association, publishers of the DSM-IV that language concerning individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) MUST BE UPDATED. A major advocacy group for the ID population, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities-formerly The American Association on Mental Retardation formally presented recommendations to the DSM-V ASD and Developmental Disorders Subgroup, February 22, 2010 stating "Nationally and internationally the term 'intellectual disability' (ID) is replacing the older term 'mental retardation' as widely accepted, the term is the preferred term since it reflects the changed construction of disability, aligns better with current professional practices that focus on functional behaviors and contextual factors, provides a logical basis for individualized supports due to its basis in social-ecological framework, is less offensive to persons with the disability and is more consistent with the international terminology." Emphasis added by author.

Action among student nursing groups continues. Regis University, Denver, CO Student Nurses Association (RSNA) authored Resolution 2. This year will be the third year Regis University will be hosting a campus wide awareness day sponsored by the Regis' Office of Disability Student Services (ODS) with assistance from RSNA. Signature tables are set up in the Student Union staffed by both representatives from ODS and RSNA. Students sign a banner pledging to eliminate the R-Word from daily use and are given the website www.r-word.org with instructions to go online and pledge, joining the national Special Olympics tally. T-shirts, posters, bracelets and pencils are all distributed. The bulletin board and door near the ODS office also promotes the event. Also a dialog is scheduled with community leaders, nursing students and members of the ID community.

Since Resolution 2 has passed, student leaders in several states including Ohio, Arkansas and Utah have been working with Regis University event coordinators to learn more about creating Spread the Word to End the R-Word events on their campus. Events can be created in any and every community. Just go to www.r-word.org and click on events for additional information. ?

References

American Association of Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities. (2011). AAIDD 11th Edition Implementation Committee. Retrieved from http://www.aaidd.org/media/PDFs/DSMV.pdf.

First, M. B. 2000. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Washington D.C.; American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved from http://online.statref.com/document.aspx?fxid=37&docid=13.

Special Olympics. (2008). What are Intellectual Disabilities? Retrieved from www.specialolympics.org/.../Fact%20Sheet Intellectual%20Disabilities.pdf.

United States Congress. (2010, January 5). Rosa's Law. Retrieved from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c111/temp/~c1116GoOGv.

by Toni Sugg, RN