Yes but not everybody in the special needs program is. Did you even read the article? Blind people are not "mentally retarded." Deaf people are not "mentally retarded."

They didn't address all the special needs people as mentally retarded. Maybe you should go back and reread the article.

Also, if they are just taking the pages out and reglueing the book back togther now these kids don't get their pictures in their year book.

Some are visually retarded...

lisa, according to the article, their parents specifically did not want their pictures in the yearbook to begin with. so not only were they labeled inappropriately, but they were going against the rights of the parents to keep their kids out of school publications, which can be a legal issue if a parent wants to turn it into one.

Why is the term 'mentally retarded' now considered offensive? Who gets to decide that? It was accepteble before but is now offensive? Why? Will 'special needs' be the new 'mentally retarded' in the future, and therefore become unacceptable?

Words become offensive it seems only because people are trying to deny what is true, and so come up with euphemisms to make things fit their fantasy world. I prefer to live in the real world with precise accurate definitions where people are reasonable and don't feign offense when none was intended.

The whole thing about the word being offensive is dumb.

Now we hear the same mocking tone used about the word "special"

"Oh that's special"; calling other kids "Special Ed", "you must be so special" after an inane comment. "Riding the short bus to school" etc.

So I guess in another 10 years we'll loose the term Special Needs to something else... Probably Developmentally delayed. That seems to be the new trend anyway. Then once that shift is complete and anyone remarks "oh he screwed up the yearbook..that's special." will get the same hissy fit directed at them for that.

The reason these terms keep having to get replaced is because they are constantly hijacked and used as derogatory terms by others. I don't much care when I hear students use foul language, but when you say "retard" or "gay" in the derogatory sense, you are using an entire group of individuals as a personal insult. A criminal offense? No. But clearly not school-appropriate.

In reply to Dumbo and Spiderman, you obviously do not have a special needs child. Retarded is very offensive to me now that I've grown up (unlike you) and have had a child with special needs. Yes, we all used that word in the 80s, they also use to hide these poor children away ashamed of them too. Things change as some of us become more educated. I'm not saying these seniors did anything wrong, because they didn't no otherwise. But I would have wanted it changed as well.

I take offense to the term Special Needs being used in place of Retarded. Many students are labeled as special needs because they need help in reading in grade school. That is a long way from Retarded. Retarded usually has to do with IQ and is not typically a condition that can be overcome. If you have the IQ of a Moron or an Idiot then unfortunately, you are a Moron on an Idiot. Severely retarded students do not belong in special needs classes or in my opinion even in our public school systems. Two of my childeren were in special reading classes and the boy is now a successful IT manager at a large company and my daughter is a teacher of 400 students between the grades of Kindergarten and 12th grade. Obviously, their special needs were met.

Dan Gr

You took the words out of my mouth. Soooooooooooooo very sick and tired of the PC crowd and their alternate reality of the world. As if this PC garbage weren't enough now everyone has to go out of their way to accommodate children with mental and physical developmental issues (Is that PC enough for the alternate reality folks?) in a school setting because mommy and daddy want their not normal child to have a normal education. How can a child with a severe learning disability have a normal education? It is impossible and only serves to put a strain on the system as a whole. If you are the parents of a special needs child the whole world now has to bend all the rules to fit your child's needs and bow down to their every whim for fear of a lawsuit. This world is out of control when the voice of one carries more weight than the voices of the many.

Well it sounds like people are really thin skinned. Their insecurities and how they see themselves won't allow them to be "labeled"

Sorry folks- stop being pantywastes. Retarded people are in fact Retarded (not mentally challenged).

All this liberal PC crap has got to go.

My daughter is 40 and has been disabled since before birth. Please, in all of your supposed intelligence, tell me your definition of Mentally Retarded. That is one of the most disgusting terms. Does it apply to YOU? Please think before you open your mouth and say something that hurts someone else.. My daughter and many others did not ask to be borm with disabilities, and in this world it appears it is tough enough without the disabilities, your comment just makes things harder for people like my daughter. But just because you are "normal" (whatever normal is) you think you have the right to post something so hurtful. I suppose if my daughter is Mentally Retarded then you are a self-centered narcissist?

Defninition of "Mentally Retarded":

Down Syndrome

simple as that.

I agree DaveM, everyone so thin skinned these days, you can't say any phrase anymore or you will offend someone, somewhere. The phrase "mentally retarded" is not offensive, it is a condition, it is down syndrome. Granted, the topic of this article seems a bit disturbing, labeling anyone who is in a special needs class as mentally retarded, that is not right. But all of you who are screaming and crying at the phrase need to grow up a little yourselves.

I work with a wonderful lady who has a child with down syndrome, and we both took a look at the comments of this article and had a little laugh. She takes no offense to the phrase, because the fact is, that's what the condition is called. Sure, if it is used in a derogatory manner then it is negative, but that doesn't define the phrase as permanently offensive.

PC crap

Yes but not everybody in the special needs program is. Did you even read the article? Blind people are not "mentally retarded." Deaf people are not "mentally retarded."

I've never heard the term "mentally retarded" associated with deaf or blind people. Never.

Dan Gr

"I prefer to live in the real world with precise accurate definitions where people are reasonable and don't feign offense when none was intended."

I am not completely denying that the rest of what you said isn't a valid argument, but if we want to be precise and accurate in our definitions as you have suggested, then the labels of "retarded", "handicapped" and the like should be completely taken out of the picture and we should tell it like it is.

If a person has downs syndrome why don't we say "he has downs syndrome" instead of calling him a retard? If a person is schizophrenic why not just say so instead of "she is crazy"? Not only would it be more accurate, but I truly believe it would help people understand more about some of these conditions.

My guess is the labels started way back when nobody had names for all of these different things so just like they lumped them all together in the "loony bin" they just lumped them all into the "mentally retarded" category, too.

I don't personally take offense to the terms, however I can see where one closer to the situation would.

What I want to know is 1) How does a group of HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS not understand that the word Retarded or Retard could be taken offensively when its kids who have turned the terms into insults in the first place? Sounds like the principal is trying to cover her a$$ if you ask me. And on the same note, how in the world did the terms got past the yearbook coordinator and principal/superintendent in the first place? Isn't it their job to monitor what the kids are doing so such a thing does not happen? I highly doubt the publisher just stuck the words in there....

The phrase "mentally retarded" is not offensive, it is a condition, it is down syndrome.

So Mentally Retarded is a synonym for Down Syndrome? Interesting. Learn something new every day. I always thought Down Syndrome was a specific disability caused by an extra Chromosome somewhere. (Also known as Trisomy 21) And that "Mental Retardation" was an archaic word used to describe someone with significant delays in cognitive functioning.

why, just, why... there are hundreds of important things out there.... and they put this up.... guess when they have nothing good to say about President Obama(God I cant wait for the chance to just put his name), they spew crap instead...

I used to be a special education teacher. As such, these students are people who have difficulties. There is a wide spectrum that falls under "special needs". I taught the range. The students that are in the general classrooms are students who only have learning disabilities. These students are completely capable of learning the general curriculum and need a few different strategies to help them learn. My general education students benefited from these strategies as well. When I taught my students with severe disabilities, I had a range of students there. Some of the students did have mental retardation. However, I would never walk into a meeting and tell a parent that their child was "mentally retarded". They were always students with "down syndrome", students with "autism", and students who had "mental challenges". In the school system, you have to be PC.

And to the person who said these students do not belong in a public school with the "normal" population, you are the biggest idiot of this group. I don't know how many of my general students, as well as my own children's lives have been enhanced by knowing these children. Keeping them in a special school not only does these students an injustice, but it leads to intolerance for people with disabilities. These students with disabilities are some of the kindest, sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet and teach. Please don't discount their worth as students and people.

I feel like it is easy enough to look at the comments on this board to understand why the term "retarded" is offensive and inappropriate.

I find it interesting that many people defending the use of the word "retarded" use the word "retarded" in their statements to describe something stupid. How can you not see that this is offensive?

I know some in the medical profession still refer to someone as having mental retardation. This is different than saying someone is retarded. Retarded has become an insult in itself. As evidenced on this board-people use it as a universal term for stupid.

Would you want to be called a term that is commonly known to mean stupid even if its origins came from a condition you had?

The n-word comes from the country Niger in Africa. That does not mean it is ok to call someone from there the n-word-then wonder why they took offense!

And why does this belong in a yearbook? Even if they put the correct term?

Rosey269 - Isn't that the truth??

Hearts2004- Agreed!

As someone who has worked with special needs people I am surprised at other people claiming knowledge of special needs people and saying this is ok. Espcially the guy with the friend with Down's Syndrome. I can tell you first hand that depression occurs frequently in people with Down's Syndrome. Part of that does come from knowledge they are "different".

Being labelled as "mentally retarded" is a brutal pejorative that has no place. They may not operate cognitively the same as you and I but their value as people and what they can contribute to the lives of people around them is immense. Their ability to show love, affection, and kindness is a sign that they are more mentally developed than some of the posters on this board.

Students on the yearbook staff, a team of mostly seniors and a teacher advisor, also did not have parental permission to publish the photos of the students with special needs, Jobe said.

In other words, kiddies, THEY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT FOLLOWING THE RULES. Being it's in Texas, I'm betting they're also "Conservative"............

I lived in Dallas for a while. This doesn't suprise me!

Seems to me the retarded ones were the dumb students and faculty responsible for the yearbook. The students with special needs, including those persons with mental retardation, are far smarter. Put them in charge next year!

With a son who has Cerebral Palsy I would be highly offended if he were ever labeled as retarded, even if it was supposedly used appropriately. From my understanding Mental Retardation means you have some sort of condition that leaves you with an IQ of less then 70. My son is not delayed mentally, only physically and to call him otherwise is offensive. Even if a child does have a low IQ, why would this be brought up in a yearbook? I do understand the change of words. Words are always evolving. Such as words related to race are always evolving, yet we would not use the words that were once appropriate now, because now they are not appropriate. I agree that compared to many of the things that are going on in the world today this seems small in comparison, but whether we like it or not it is an issue that many people feel strongly about.

Dan Gr and others that post idiot remarks like him. The thing our country has lost is empathy. All you guys talk crap against those less fortunate than you and think sitting in church on sunday defends you. You guys are sad folk and I doubt when redemption day comes, God will be counting the number of days you spend in church coming up with ways to hurt others, but rather the number of times you demoralize and hurt others.

Not surprising this happens again in Texas, where I guess poor folk are easily brainwashed into thinking raise my taxes but lower the taxes of the rich. Folks unless you making over 250k a year, you are being taxed as the poor.

Mark-768209 the term Deaf and Dumb was used to describe individuals that could not hear. I'm sure come colorful remark was used to describe those that could not see or see well that had a similar tone. I guess deaf and dumb is better than retard for some.

The bottom line is everyone has defects, democrats of course have more, but there really is no need to draw attention to it.

The bottom line is everyone has defects, democrats of course have more, but there really is no need to draw attention to it.

Then why did you?

UpNorthEMT

....What I want to know..... how in the world did the terms got past the yearbook coordinator and principal/superintendent in the first place?

Possibly they had the grammar skills you have?

As said, at the beginning of this thread, some are mentally retarded. The comments also go on to basically state that no matter what "term" is used some will be offended.

So we say nothing, we don't recognize that they have mental deficiencies? We stick our head in the sand and say all is well?

You wanna see what "retarded" looks like? Take a look at the idiots and morons I encounter on the road every day.

never mind ...

Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70.

I worked as a care provider for developmentally disabled adults for 8.5 years, Mental Retardation is a genuine medical classification. Several of the people I took care were diagnosed as anywhere from mild to severe mentally retarded.

The U.S.A. needs to stop making every word a crime... some of the words are no longer allowed because someone got pissy about how it was used when they do not even understand the word... or even know if it is being used correctly.

If you call a "Normal" person retarded is a term like jerk or a-hole, If you call a retarded person a "retard," it is offensive. Same thing with the term "Fag" or Faggot". I dont get it.

What is all this stuff about "titles"? Why does everyone want a big long title? The only group so far that has come up with a shorter PC name are Asians and maybe Latinos. White is shorter then Caucasian, black is shorter then African American, midget is shorter then little person, handicapped is still shorter then physically challenged, and it is hard to beat "tard" for how short the word is.

I find it funny how obsessed people are over titles and appearances, yet they are ignorant to function which is actually useful. Function lets you do things for yourself, while appearance/title can only get you things that other people already have.

It's kind of like calling someone a LIBERAL PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT !!!!! Not politicaly correct !

Texas. So busy trying to push their radical religious doctrine in schools that they forget to teach common, human decency.

When i was a boy we had a boy in our class who also had problems. He attended class daily, and did go through grad exercises with us. Never would it have entered any ones mind to have labeled him retarded in the yearbook. This was 1962. We haven't made progress but have bowed down ignorance. Only a fool would agree with anyone being labeled retarded in a yearbook.

Some folks require "special needs", others are retarded. Some 'special needs people " have retarded parents. Nothing wrong with telling the truth if in fact the truth, IS, THE TRUTH............Changing the verbage, wont change the facts...........

... how in the world did the terms got past the yearbook coordinator and principal/superintendent in the first place? Isn't it their job to monitor what the kids are doing so such a thing does not happen?

UpNorthEMT - That's just it. No one is doing his or her job nowadays. For example, it's next to impossible to find an article on MSNBC that doesn't contain significant errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. People, including the yearbook coordinator and other school officials, just don't care anymore.

Whether you like it or not, we all have some sort of handicap. You wear glasses, can't hear, have a speech impediment, can't do math, have an eating disorder, memory loss, itchy skin, have really bad BO, bad breath, can't comprehend, anxiety, ADD, etc. etc. Technically we all have a disorder. So............... Shall we call you a "retard"?

A lot of these comments are retarded and gay. Including this one.

This actually a subject that only 'retards' can possibly understand...........

My sister is mentally retarded. Why is this a problem?

Wow "liberal PC crap" I am LOVING this!!! Can all of you folks that are going on about the "liberal PC crowd" please please please PLEASE go tell your fearless leader Sarah Palin that little fact? Then maybe you can make her apologize to Joe Biden for using that very UN PC term. OOPS, that's right the only people that are "liberals" can be taken to task for that. Now lets get serious.

Get a grip people, I do not call people that because in some ways as has been mentioned it is OFFENSIVE. If parents would rather their children be referred to as special needs, what is wrong with that? How is that hurting you? Or do you really need to feel that superior to others?

Dave in Michigan,

You have a point. Lumping everything together as special needs; if Albert Einstein (who didn't exactly have the best school performance) were alive today, he probably would have been placed along with all the oher special needs kids, including those who have a low IQ. Simply because he had difficulty with some life skills, such as tieing his shoes. The problem here could be, that someone who could think up the special and general theories of relativity, and develop models which current day astro-physics is in large measure based on, probably would have found classes for "slow kids" rather boring. But then if he didn't pay attention in class, or dozed off, they might have further diagnosed him with ADD and given him ritalin, without ever questioning if the pace of the class was too slow for him.

The same could occur with someone who has dyslexia. And yet dyslexia is not mental retardation. People can learn to cope with it, and it doesn't really impact one's intelligence. Someone who had severe retardation (an IQ around 40 for instance), no amount of glasses, or help for overcoming a reading disorder would either increase their intelligence, or their ability to comprehend/make sense of things. Placing a kid with dyslexia in with "the slow kids" wouldn't necessarily be appropriate, and once again could result in them getting bored, if/when they get the help they do need, and they're difficulties reading are addressed. A blanket label in the name of being "PC or nice" wouldn't necessarily help all people. Someone who does badly in class because they can't see (needs glasses) would not be in the same boat as someone with downs syndrome, etc....

Something like an astigmatism, is not an issue of the mind or the brain.... But with such a diagnosis, and without giving question, if the kid then gets bored as things are going too slow for them, they could all too often get further diagnosed with ADD, even if their test scores are excellent. The answer in such case might be to get them the glasses, and place them in more advanced classes then, not dope them up.... In some ways there are issues with our schools, especially when they do stuff like this, or pretty much send the parents off with marching orders, without necessarily giving the doctors the freedom to exercise their own expertise in the matter.... And then, yes as you said, they don't want call a spade a spade, so they'll lump people together even if they really aren't in the same boat.... Ditto, if trouble at school stems from family problems, or problems at home, and in such case the parents might not really want to fess up to their own issues, or how it might be affecting their kids....

Can we also make it mandatory to label certain social/ultra conservatives as "mentally retarded" as well? After all they do seem to have the tendency of voting against their own best interests as well as trying to impose a national, "morally correct", social order based on the stories contained within a fictional book.

P.S: Find someone who can literally traverse the surface of the water without sinking, part the ocean without using technology, use the rib of one human being to make another and I'll withdraw the "fictional" line.

momofspecialneeds

In reply to Dumbo and Spiderman, you obviously do not have a special needs child. Retarded is very offensive to me now that I've grown up (unlike you) and have had a child with special needs.

Exactly the problem with people like you and liberals, the term isnt actually offensive to the person that you pretend it is offensive to. The problem is that you want to find it offensive so you act like it is offensive to that person when the truth is that noone but you cares.

Stop changing the meanings of words to suit your agendas and insecurities.

The bottom line is that if you cannot understand why this is offensive it is
because you are an offensive person. You have not had enough life experience to
understand what it is like to be mentally impaired or even a remote
understanding of how people have been treated throughout history or maybe you
are mentally disabled because you are from TEXAS. History will view you
ignorant hicks for what you are, ignorant. I would bet most of you are waving
your bible to justify your bigotry and sexism. Jesus would be so proud of you.
If you are this heartless, I am confident you are a homophobic, sexist with an
IQ well below the normal and an embarrassment to your children. I hope that
your ignorance will not pollute the minds of our children

Exactly the problem with people like you and your ilk, the term is offensive. The problem is that you could care less who you offend. This has nothing to do with being liberal or belonging to any political party. Try as you will to turn it into some political debate, its about children and those that love them. If perhaps you could bring yourself to understand that, you may be on your way to being a compassionate person.

Blind is blind is just the same as "visually impaired." Mentally retarded is mentally retarded just the same as "special needs." Linguistic shifts happen all the time ex. Gay in the 20's-50's vs. Gay today. Quit crying PC people. It all means the same. Just because I have a registered IQ of 162 doesn't mean that I consider those with lower IQ's subhuman but I do believe in calling an raisin an raisin and not trying to put a pretty picture on it by calling it a "special needs grape." BTW I am disabled physically so I do have a clue.

Touchy,touchy,touchy.

I'd rather be called "retarded" than "politically correct" any day!

I looked up the word "Retarded" and it fits a description of students with mental disabilities. Not sure what the fuss is all about. If the words Mentally Retarded should not be used, then remove them from the dictionary. Otherwise, stop complaining about a word or words in the english language and dictionary.

As others have pointed out, linguistics change and it has long been known that "mentally retarded" is considered a pejorative.

Brenda1964- I went to dictionary.com and typed in "ni - -er". Guess what? There's an entry for it. I guess that makes it ok??

For those of you wondering what the big deal is. Special needs people have astounding variations in skills and abilities. Some are very aware that they are "different" and it can cause sadness and depression. They understand that being called "mentally retarded" is an insult. Think about that next time you blithely toss out pejoratives like "mentally retarded".

It has nothing to do with "pretending" that people don't have handicaps. It's about dignity and respect for the person.

I would have to say if the N word is still in the Websters Dictionary then it is concidered a word for use. If you don't like that sorry. Gay used to mean happy, then turned into that guy is gay, now its used to describe a situation as sucking. How gay! Maybe if people stop messing with the english language and trying to pc everything, we might know what to put in a school year book.

brenda1964: Knowing what to put in the yearbook is easy - the students name.

They also use the terms moron and imbecile............... And no one knows how to use those appropriately, do they?

xmercuri: It is true that "Mental Retardation" is an Axis II diagnosis, however, that is a medical diagnosis - even if the medical diagnosis technically was correct, it is still wrong to label a student as "Mentally Retarded" in a yearbook. First, even child psychiatrists that diagnose and treat special needs children do not use this term with the children or their families because it has been used to be derogatory to these individuals.

Secondly, say there was child that had an Axis II diagnosis of "mental retardation", labeling them as such in the year book without the permission of their parents (or them, depending on the individual circumstances), would be a violation of their right to privacy - medical records are PRIVATE for a reason and cannot be used without permission of the patient (or their parent or guardian). There would be absolutely no valid reason for publishing ANY medical diagnosis of ANY student in a yearbook - regardless of what that medical diagnosis is.

I don't think it's appropriate to label them at all according to their disability. I would rather they had just included them as students. Period. Why say that the special needs kids have diabilities like being Blind or Deaf or Mentally Retarded at all? Can't you just say - "Here's our fellow strudents in our special education program having a great time playing kick ball with Mr.C!" as the caption? Why highlight their disability? It's their year book too. I'm sure they and their families spend far more time identifying with what they CAN do rather than what they CAN'T do. And that's the message that should have been drilled down to the students and their faculty advisors at the end of the day. Disabled people, even mentally disabled people, have feelings too. It's not nice to make them feel inferior to the other students for disabilities that are beyond their control.

Hello it's Texas, home of the we don't give a crap unless there's oil involved.

Xina the Awesome: I 110% agree with everything you wrote. Very well said.

Moparfan

Your displaying your mental disabilities.

The term "retarded" means that whatever process is slowed by some factor..it is not as if someone used a racial slur...I guess I don't see the issue here.

"Retarded" is also a shorthand way to indicate a retarded development of some sort-could be mental or physical or even emotional, but in some way lagging behind what would be expected as normal development of a given age group. It is another example of a perfectly innocent descriptive word used poorly in some circles which results in the word being unusable in any context. Does anyone realize that if we aren't careful, the tidal wave of politically correct speech will leave us with about a dozen words to express the entire of the human existence. George Carlin was 100% correct: "There are no bad words, only bad intentions." While it is never appropriate to use labels as a catch all terminology, we as a society have gone completely off the other end of the pier. In the context of a high school year book, why would any mention of students with disabilities be required at all unless it was in the context of participation in Special Olympics, but otherwise, what would be the purpose of singling out the grouping of students? Isn't the whole point of mainstream education that they are one of the student body, considered equal? So, in this context, it is not even applicable let alone appropriate, but that begs the question.....who was the faculty advisor overseeing this? Don't know about anyone else, but when I went to school, every single activity was overseen by a faculty advisor.

Ah man, this pc crap is sickening. We need, all of us, to get over ourselves.

Sue-3329001......it is not about being politically correct, it is about disrespect and having the decency to consider other people as individuals and not by their disability.

Newsvine is a full fledged member of the liberal PC crowd. Just try typing that someone is an idiot, a moron, or a bigot and see what happens. Your comment will be deleted and your ability to post comments will be suspended or you will be banned. Nope, no longer can a spade be called a spade in the new found PC world. Above all else treat everyone as an equal even if they are not and spare everyone from any type of self-examination. And no we don't keep score because everyone is a winner and everyone gets a trophy simply because they participated. No wonder America gets laughed at and is no longer considered a leader in the world arena.

I'm sorry, but this story is simply.........................retarded.

I agree with you IWonder....another case of the PC patrol going overboad.

Iwonder.....then go tell a bunch of Black people they are ni**ers..if you hate being PC, then just go call them a bunch of racial slurs....oh, so you probably wouldn't do that because its offensive, not because its un-PC......would you tell a child with a disability they are "retarded"? No, because its disrespectful...have some decency kid...just because we shouldn't call kids "retarded" doesn't mean we are over-PC-ed in this country

AMEN! We're turning into a country of hypocrites, afraid to speak our minds because we might offend someone or other. God forbid we might actually have a clear, open discussion of any topic.

Another thing, since I seem to be on a roll, these comment collapsers gripe me.

It is amazing. One can tell just from their posts - which people were (and are still) bullies. And which ones are shocked that the topic of this article was allowed to happen.

What ever happened to staff supervision? Or did this reflect the philosophy of the school? I hope that the parents (of those children who were thusly labeled) hire a vicious lawyer. This type of institutional bullying needs to be dealt with harshly. And staff should be losing their jobs over this.

Of course - I forget that this happened in Texas. The land where anyone not a beer drinking redneck is a 'ferriner' and it is ok to put down anyone different.

Wait until next week when the yearbooks are recalled again...for using the term lesbians on pages with the girls basketball team.

Wow, a lot of knee-jerk reaction here. The article failed to specifically mention the motivation behind listing the specific impairment. Does that give us the right to assume those special needs students were meant to be singled out in a derogatory fashion? I thought it was an attempt, mis-guided as it may be, to demonstrate that the high school enables those with disabilities to graduate along with other students; and that indicating the specific impairment would help the viewer realize how stong the person was to overcome the specific obstacles associated with their particular condition. The article did not even go into detail as to whether or not specific disabilities were associated with a specific child's picture, in which case this would NOT be a violation of privacy. The yearbook staff merely mentioned the types of special needs children their school was able to help. The only issue indicated in the article was whether or not "retarded" is acceptable.

That being said, "Mental retardation" is in fact a clinically acceptable term. Check the DSM-IV codes. 317 is used for "mild mental retardation." 318 is used for "moderate mental retardation." 319 is used for "mental retardation, severity unspecified." The fact that the term "retarded" is misapplied and used in a derogatory manner does not change the fact that those persons who truly fall under this classification are just that - mentally retarded. And by the way, "moron" and "embicile" are NOT clinically used terms, and do not appear in the DSM-IV. Also, the term "Developmentally Disabled" is NOT synonymous with "Mentally retarded." The term that psychologists are proposing to replace "mental retardation" is "Intellectually delayed." You see, mental retardation is a specific delay. To say someone is developmentally delayed is not as specific. A person may have delayed development in speech, or motor function, for example. They may also be classified as having a "pervasive developmental delay," which means the person has developmental delays in several areas. The most common are those who are autistic (DSM-IV 299.00) or have Asperger's syndrome (DSM-IV 299.80). A person who is truly experienced in dealing with a broad array of special needs children (such as a psychologist or Special Education instructor) knows that there is a broad spectrum of those with autism, and not all qualify as having below average intellectual functioning, despite impairments in social and adaptive skills.

Most of you who took offence, as if you had been attacked personally, have most likely reacted this way because you have dealt with family members with special needs, or have friends with family members who are affected. Many persons were raised hearing the term "retarded" used in a derogatory manner, and when they suddenly were faced with the fact that they now were associated with someone who truly was "mentally retarded," took personal offense, and looked for another term to apply to this person - not for his/her sake, but to spare their own pride and unwarranted embarrassment. (Not that anyone would openly admit this, but I am very good at reading the people I have dealt with). And for this, the psychology community has to gratify their clients by coming up with new terminology.

Now, I should say that your limited experience does not make you an expert on this subject matter. Suppose the person you know might have been diagnosed as "developmentally disabled," but was not mentally retarded. It is ignorance of the specific criteria that warrant individual diagnoses that cause most persons, even those of you taking up an offence, to not be able to distinguish between "developmental disability" and "mental retardation." But when you have associated the two by commenting on this vine that the two terms are interchangeable, one being more acceptable than the other, you have inadvertently insulted (since you feel this is an insult) all persons who fall under any special needs category other than "mental retardation" are the same as mentally retarded persons. (It may be that the majority of the yearbook panel cannot make distinctions either, but they had at least the presence of mind to incorporate a statement that indicated the "mentally retarded" were only one category of students serviced in the special needs programs).

So to sum up: do your research before you comment on a public vine, and stop allowing your pride to cause embarrassment by association with a "special needs" person. You will find yourself a better advocate for those you claim to be standing up for, and will appear more well-informed when revealing a well-laid out opinion on a message board.

wait, are we calling these special needs kids GAY?

I heard the word "gay" is interchangable with "stupid, retarded"...

so naturally, I assumed that retarded could also mean gay.

it's really hard keeping up with the imbeciles (used correctly) who seem to think being respectul is being "PC" and being PC, according to the christian fakers, is the worst thing in the world to be.

then again, maybe the ones who dont like being PC arent christians, and therefore there's ZERO hypocrisy when it comes to their lack of desire to be kind to other people, and not deragotry (even if their small minds cant grasp why it's derogatory).

Wow, what a breach of trust and honor by the faculty and editor of the yearbook. An error? A mistake? Are you kidding me? The educators and proofreaders (including school professionals who do not consider themselves retarded, but questionable right now) are entrusted to produce a book of memories that a child looks over again and again with a sense of pride and school spirit sometimes right into their adulthood. This was a huge violation. If the parents have the compassion to forgive such an egregious error these administrators should count their lucky stars. I would not be so forgiving; at all. I still get angry when they spell my daughter's name wrong. This school gets an "F".

And as for the posters who are reciting retardation as a medical diagnosis; the school is supposed to publish a yearbook, not a DSM-IV! Let that argument go.

Thats what they are period!!! We can cover it up with a new name and next year that name will be bad. This was taken from the encyclopedia---The terms used to describe this condition are subject to a process called the euphemism treadmill. This means that whatever term is chosen for this condition, it eventually becomes perceived as an insult. Wake up America no matter what we call it no one will like it

Haha well, interested observer, I can't speak for all Texans but for myself, I'll be perfectly pleased if you never come here.

And for takenaka, I am what I am and if you don't like it, tough! :)

There now, I feel better already, sometimes it's good to blow off steam.

It has nothing to do with being politically correct. A person is a person first regardless of his/her disability. You don't call them "special needs kids" -- they are kids with special needs -- being a "kid" before anything else. The term "mentally retarded" is disrespectful and derogatory. There is a campaign on a website I suggest you check it out.

IWonder - I am sure that you are so proud of that school district as a good representative of your state. And I really hope that the parents of the children labeled hire a really mean lawyer. The taxpayers of your state deserve to pay for your ignorance and attitude. And the state should prosecute the district for practicing medicine without a license and HIPPA violations - since they are posting a medical diagnosis for all to see.

Question - should the newpaper be allowed to post your medical diagnosis of herpes? After all - it would be the truth anyone contemplating sex with you should know. And the truth cannot hurt unless one believes in liberal concepts like privacy and protection of one's dignity.

I used to live in Texas, and I chose to leave as soon as my job transferred me out. I got so tired of following drunk drivers in pickup trucks.

The political correctness in this country is simply retarded. Retarded means slower than the mean. Why can't our society accept the fact that there are people who are mentally retarded, just as there are those that are gifted. Pretty soon we will have to come up with a term for the gifted that is more correct because those people don't fit in. This is just retarded!

Oh, and by the way, my little sister is mentally retarded in actuality, and the term has never been insulting, but the truth.

I love it: "I chose to leave as soon as my job transferred me out."

That's funny; I chose to live in Germany just as soon as the Army transferred me there!

Moparfan

Hello it's Texas, home of the we don't give a crap unless there's oil involved.

i always thought of most Mopar fans as a special group, besides the point tho isnt?

i think the comment if any read the article made more sence... the graduates could have parted on a better note, as far as what teachers/parents teach kids in school. obviously this never should have made it to the printing press, and some one (TEACHER) didn't/couldnt even get that part done. so, so sad....

yes it is wrong to label people, PERIOD! is what it is in most cases with molesters... but when/where do we teach our kids to draw the line, BEFORE they reach adulthood?

and on a happeir note..... i agree, there are a lot, LOT of people who post, that just need to get over themselves, or take a slow step back away from the PC, and go out and do something..... a job perhaps, out in the REAL WORLD?

happy42xxx

The term "retarded" means that whatever process is slowed by some factor..it is not as if someone used a racial slur...I guess I don't see the issue here.

It's because the previously used term, "mentally retarded," once acceptable, morphed, as many terms do, into a derogatory insult, whether "retard" or "mental." It no longer meant a person with cognitive disabilities, but someone who is "stupid," and has been used to insult virtually anyone. As already pointed out, there use to be other terms that were once considered appropriate and proper, such as "moron," "imbecile," "lunatic," "insane," even "senile," but all were eventually utilized as insults and were dropped from the social/medical lexicon. Language evolves because people abuse it.

Reba,

If you are in the psychological field, then you should know as well as anyone that a medical diagnosis should not be published. I was a special education teacher, and I DO TAKE OFFENSE to what was stated in this yearbook. I'm sure the students didn't mean to offend, but it is still offensive. I didn't take it to mean at all that they were trying to list the disabilities being serviced in their school. The pictures of those students should have just been included with whichever grade level they are in. That is what we did with the yearbook from the high school I taught in.

Ah... the Texas public education system at its finest !

Brought to you by the same people who honestly believe that modern man has walked the earth at the same time as dinosoars, that creationism is the same as science and that humans have not contributed to global warming.

It sounds to me as if the students on the yearbook committee were simply trying to be inclusive of the students with special needs and, as a mother of a special needs child, I appreciate that a lot more than I am upset by the antiquated term "mentally retarded."

I'm not a fan of using derogatory words, but I do find it somewhat hypocritical and semi-hilarious that many of the people here that are pro-politically correct are so full of themselves that they don't realize that making fun of people from Texas and making gross generalizations of people from the South is pretty much the same thing that they are upset about.

The term mental retardation is a medical term. Someone has mental retardation.

They are not retarded. I understand that it may seem to some like semantics or PC language gone too far, but the term "retarded" has become in insult as it is used far too often to describe someone who does not have mental retardation.

Also, why would you list their disabilities in a yearbook? Did they list "asthma" or "diabetic" next to students who had those conditions too?

'

I agree completely that the word "Retarded" or "Retard" is completely socially unacceptable . Yes, there once was a time when it was commonly used. As was "@!$%#" or "Nigga". But these aren't socially acceptable anymore. If anything they are derogatory. Wake up people its 2012! You can scream PC all you want, for the rest of us its just plain Common Courtesy/ Common Sense. Smdh.

Students on the yearbook staff, a team of mostly seniors and a teacher advisor, also did not have parental permission to publish the photos of the students with special needs, Jobe said.

In other words, THEY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT FOLLOWING THE RULES. After all -- rules are for "losers", right?

mike...dang it... have fun with these topics...the media will be back on zimmerman or casey anthony...soon enough...these retarded articles are few and far between...lol

Chelle Lail

I disagree. The problem is not the words. It is not holding people accountable when they are used in a profane way. We have enough trouble getting our youth to have the limited vocabularies that they do, and you want to remove some of the words from the english language? After a period of time, there will be no words left, and we will be writing on cave walls. It is called devolution.

tyler

I am sorry, but you took IWonder's and takenada's comments way out of context. That was wrong. This is a thread about political correctness, and I find that their comments added to the overall discussion. Perhaps if we contrived a new word for mentally retarded and simply called them Tylers. That doesn't mean that the original term was not accurate. It also doesn't mean that at some point in the future, political correctness will change the term from tylers to john's.

It is now john.

Hey, now that is offensive! LOL Hey Tyler, check out tactical45's post.

xmercuri and cunical: So then let's add labels for Fat and Ugly too!! That's the truth, right? There's PC and then there's common sense. Oh, and how about some compassion? Oh, I forgot -- we can throw compassion out when we speak "the truth," no matter what that is. Or finishing any negative comment with the phrase "I'm just sayin'" makes it okay. And ESPECIALLY when it's anonymous on the web. Post a picture of YOUR kid and we'll see what "truths" we can come up with...

Fairfaxdad,

I can hear them now. "Oh... well thats different." lol. Some people have no common sense or courtesy due to lack of upbringing. You have to look past them more and more these days because they are the majority.

cunical....if there was a label for "socially retarded" and unlikely to mature, that might be truth too, but then, I'm guessing that might get a few more people upset at "not winning ribbons or trophys"...

How come whenever I hear of complete idiocy whether it be their laws or their public education - its Texas.

This smacks of political correctness. I'm ADD (or supposedly was, I strongly suspect I was just prescribed drugs to make doctors really rich), but at roughly age 18, decided to throw my last pills into the sink and never take any again. I'm kinda maladjusted in the job market, but socially doing much better as the pills made me like a zombie.

Children don't have "special needs" unless they let them. I was allowed a quiet classroom for testing in most standardized tests, but I think this should be a standard. You shouldn't have lots of distractions, if you can't concentrate, with or without a disability. But, yes, people who have let the disorder win are in fact mentally retarded, despite whatever flowery name we wanna give. To retard means to slow or impede, such people who have let school lower standards for them have by definition allowed their disorder to mentally retard them. Quiet classrooms are one thing, dumbing down the curriculum is quite another.

So you're saying that students who are, for example, autistic, are just that way because they let the school label them as such? Or deaf? Or blind? Because those are the kinds of students this is talking about.

Truth is important.. this was not acceptable in anyway..

No, actually the real problem is the notion that everyone, absolutely everyone must have a trophy or ribbon for "participation" instead of teaching the valuable lesson that we all have different strengths and we all have areas of weakness. Certain aspects of every single person cannot be changed, and learning to live in your skin, be comfortable and proud of yourself is learning to accept that everyone has failings, even yourself......We have created a society of youth who cannot handle adversity, cannot deal with things not going exactly as they envisioned, unable to make lemonade out of the lemons that life hands everyone. In short, they are spoiled, expecting accolades for very little effort, expecting praise for mediocrity, expecting to start out as a CEO without any of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into that career path for generations previous. It is never right to ridicule another human being, and somehow, generations of us learned that rule without having every single word that we uttered being censored by the thought police. Remember? "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." or "Treat others the way you would want to be treated" or "Engage your brain before putting your mouth in gear." "Sticks and stones can break your bones, but names will never hurt you." Silly, Cliche? Maybe, but generations of us learned to get along in the world with the silly cliches. We learned that often a person's words and attitudes didn't amount to a hill of beans and didn't change us. We learned that the person engaging in nastiness made themselves look worse than they might have made us look or feel. We learned to let stuff roll off, and walk away from it....maybe if our kids today were learning the same lessons, there would be less physical violence among them to worry about, because they would know when to just walk away and ignore it or as another favorite cliche would say "consider the source"

Sue, What does that have to do with the article?

generations of us learned to get along in the world with the silly cliches.

Sue,

I like that these generations you're referring to were also not too fond of black folk, women or homosexuals. And coined awesome names for them.

How far back do these generations go?

Guess that we can't leave behind the bad things of the past, like socially and legally acceptable racism, without leaving the good things like respect for authority (up to a point), order (up to a point), discipline (up to a point) and decency behind as well. If so, then that is too, too bad.

The other issue with the year book is it had the pictures of the students in the year book. Based on what I read in the article, those students can't have their pictures in the year book without the parents OK (just like any child's picture.) There are certain laws made to protect the (fill in your PC label for these people) and I'm sure one of them requires parent/guardian approval of pictures.

I really hate the advocates for the handicapped/disabled/retarded/whatever. They want their children to be treated as normal children, main streamed, put into schools with other children, yet they also want special treatment which specifically separates the children from everyone else. Make up your mind, they are either to be treated like everyone else or they are not.

At least someone caught this before there was a stupid law suit, designed to do nothing but make a bunch of lawyers money.

Students on the yearbook staff, a team of mostly seniors and a teacher advisor, also did not have parental permission to publish the photos of the students with special needs, Jobe said.

In other words, THEY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT FOLLOWING THE RULES. Hey, rules are "retarded" and "gay", y'know......... I feel sorry for y'all living in that part of Texas, since those particular teens are going to be changing y'all's diapers in only a few decades.

Hey, it's TEXAS. Did anyone really ever expect ANYTHING sensitive or caring to come out of that state? I mean really, think about it.

possum, I don't think the schools should be diagnosing this stuff, period. The school might say ADD, autistic, or whatever; and yet the teachers and administrators aren't doctors, don't have medical degrees, and don't necessarily have all the facts. What they should do is call the parents in, and perhaps recommend they see a doctor, but the diagnosis should be left to the doctor. The doctor shouldn't be pressured to give drugs "so the kid can be in school", or diagnose a certain way, or with a presumption the school left.

A degree in teaching, is not the same thing as having gone through 4 years of biology or biochemistry, and then gone on to medical school. And yes, psychiatrists are doctors, who do have medical training, as well as psychological training. Legally, they wouldn't be permitted to write scripts, if they didn't have this trianing and didn't pass the necessary liscensing exams. There's also classes, where the teachers have 80% of the class on ritalin, and argue that 80% of the kids have ADD. This is arguably doubtful, and in cases such as that, the real issue might in fact well be the teacher. But then again, and with tenure status the way it is, we all know how that can go. Because a tenured teacher can be considered beyond question to the schools. Regardless though, they are not trained and qualified medical practitioners, and so their suggestions/recommendations should stop at recommending the parents see the actual professionals. The doctors can then diagnose, without the teachers/school admins labeling in their place....

Is it hurtful? No

Unless you are also a person with special needs, then you have no place commenting on such a thing.

The word "retarded" is hurtful, whether the person being described is mentally disabled or not. It is now considered a slur, no matter how popular it once was or how medically acceptable it once was, it is now considered offensive. If you ever have a person in your family with mental disability, you will know. In the mean time, try to have some empathy.

I agree with Tom, but then I also grew up in New England. This PC $hit has gotten way out of hand. Some people actually are retarded and should be referred to as such. Be thankful the yearbook didn't use the term "window licker."

I disagree, Emily. I describe myself as Artistically Retarded, because I have absolutely no talent in music or art. I am, therefore, realistic with myself. Please don't be the conscience of mankind.

It's called Developmentally Disabled. What's so hard about learning to use the term "Developmentally Disabled"?

Does a retard really understand what a retard is?. Last week here in my hometown we had a RETARDED woman stab to death the social worker that went to her home to check on her well being. Being RETARDS are so sensitive and understanding as proclaimed the bitch should have went to jail instead of being pampered and put in an institution.

And lets remember the word "@!$%#" originates from the Niger Valley area from Africa where most of the black owned slaves were sold from. I guess that is another word the "PC" crowd changed. So according to your logic it and "fat", "ugly", "stupid" should all still be used to describe people. I bet they did not label all the "ugly" students "ugly" or the "fat" students "fat".. Then there would be a PC problem also right? The difference between the students being discussed and for example "fat" students is in most cases the "fat" students are that way by choice (eating habits) and not born with it. I believe when a class of people are disparaged by a word used to describe them it is the right thing to do to stop using it. In the case of "@!$%#" it is used commonly by the very people that are offended by it. The facts are @!$%# is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people (generally people of Sub-Saharan African descent), and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur, and suggests that its target is extremely unsophisticated. The word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger (“color black”)

So am I to assume you go and call every black person the N word, because that was once acceptable....oh wait you proabably don't because times and beliefs change. Accept it you're getting older and the times have changed, what was acceptable 30 years ago is not always acceptable now.

(on second though you probably do use the N word)

In my 40's and it was a slur when I was a child. Unless you grew up in the stix you have no excuse on this one Sick of Boston Rob err I mean Tom! ;^P

Guys you all forget that these "Retards" are also students at the school. This was their year book too. It wasn't meant to be mean, I get that... but why label them at all according to their disability? How would you feel if your kid brought home his yearbook in tears because under his picture it said "Failed math twice." or "Slowest kid on the track in gym class".... or whatever else your kid isn't good at... Yearbooks are supposed to be celebrations of the classes acheivments. They should highlight the positive abilities of each student, not point out the negatives, especially when they are beyond the student's control.

sickoftom

Until you have been involved first hand with a person that was physically and mentally handicapped please keep your opinions to yourself. Let me tell you why I take offense to the word "retarded." If you call me ugly, fat, stupid or whatever, I can defend myself either physically or verbally. When you refer to someone physically or mentally handicapped as retarded they have no defense against your cruel statements. I am well aware the term retarded was used for years, I even used it but it was wrong. I remember a third grade teacher would tell us "never refer to someone as deaf and dumb," "refer to them as deaf and mute, they are not dumb." Even though the term dumb was commonly used it was wrong. I had a son that was mentally and physically handicapped, if you used the word "retarded" around his sisters or brother you had a fight on your hands.

I think 'handicapped' and 'disabled' are unacceptable now as well. Last I heard (this could have expired its PC-ness as well), it's supposed to be 'differently abled'. While I would never want to use such a term to insult someone, 'retarded' is a scientific term meaning not progressing as expected. (In my horticulture labs in college, we used a growth retardant to keep a plant at a smaller size). While the blame falls on those that use such terms in a derogatory manner, I get tired of keeping up with all the PC terms for everything. Maybe someone could put together a website, updated at least daily, of what is and is not an acceptable descriptive term at that given moment.

floyd xina, you tow are the voice of reason. Youspeak well for this group. I have a challenged child. She hears retarded and she bursts into tears. I suppose if you taunted a fat child with "fatty" they would too. A nice page commending these children for their accomplishments against tough circumstances would have been nice. I won't fault the student yearbook staff for their ignorance. It is a direct reflection of the attitudes around them.

First: I agree that it was inappropriate for specific disabillities to be mentioned in this particular context, singling the disabled students out. That is a separate issue, however, from what terminology is appropriately used by the the public - or a parent, or a friend - to refer to individuals born with intellectual impairments that manifested themselves in childhood.

I am in my 50's; I recently lost my brother, who had Down Syndrome. I also have a Down Syndrome nephew. I, too, grew up with the term "mentally retarded," and perceive no insult in it. (The term "retard," yes, was insulting.) The local city and state advocacy organizations still refer to themselves as the [City/State] Association of Retarded Citizens! (I am in the MidAtlantic.) It is a medical term, and I fail to understand why it should be insulting. To Pepster: it is NOT the same as developmentally disabled, which is a broader category, including autism, and a variety of physical disorders. Same with the term "special needs," which arguably covers an even wider range - a child with HIV, or who has been traumatized by abuse, could be viewed as special needs. Nor is mental retardation the same as learning disabilities. I not infrequently hear people use the terms interchangeably, but learning disabilities are not intellectual (IQ) impairments, but impairments in specific learning modalities, and can affect individuals with low, normal or even very high intelligence.

I recognize that language use does change with time, however. When I was growing up, "colored" was an acceptable term for individuals of African descent. And it can vary with geography; as I said, the term is still in use here by advocacy groups.

So, someone please tell me - are "mentally disabled" or "intellectually impaired" currently PC? I'm not esp. fond of those terms, either, because they could include brain-injured people; I have several friends who were left with mental deficits incurred due to accident or illness as adults. I would not refer to them as "mentally retarded" - not because the term is (to my ears) intrinsically insulting, but because it inaccurately describes their condition. But at least those two terms are a good bit more accurate and specific than the vague "developmentally disabled," vaguer "special needs," the highly inaccurate "learning disabled," or the euphemistic "mentally challenged." I'm mentally challenged with map reading and following directions!

The comment by 7.62x39mm is very sad.

Retarded and Developmentally Disabled actually refer to two separate things. A person who is considered retarded is lagging in some developmental aspect, but the possibility of catching up to norms is realistic. Developmentally disabled refers to those who are unable to develop any further in a given area than they currently are. "Differently Abled" is a fluff term that somebody came up with that describes nothing clearly. Every person who wears glasses or a hearing aid is differently abled despite having the potential of a MENSA IQ. Some people can walk and chew gum at the same time and some cannot-differently abled. Some people can roll up their tongue and others cannot (a genetic trait) But that would have to be considered differently abled as well. Some people can never snap their fingers, click their tongues.....the list goes on and on. I find it very interesting how little resistance people have to the label handicapped if it gets them a seat when others need to stand, or a parking space right in front-they will proudly display those handicapped license plates or the sticker

Pepster says:
It's called Developmentally Disabled. What's so hard about learning to use the term "Developmentally Disabled"?

The problem is that once "developmentally disabled" is used broadly enough to describe people who are "mentally retarded" then it will be considered a slur. No one wants to be called developmentally disabled, mentally retarded, stupid, or dumb. Staying one step ahead of describing people who don't want to be something is always going to be a challenge. I think we should just stick with retarded and be done with it.

"window lickers".......that way it could refer to about anyone

Susan, since you said please-

In October of 2012 Obama signed "Rosa's Law" that said that federal agencies will now use "intellectual disability" rather than "mentally retarded."

And as for advocacy groups, name recognition is generally more important to them then keeping up with symantics. You mention ARC, there is also the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and NAACP (National Association for the Advancment of Colored People) but I wouldn't recomend you head out and start calling African Americans "Negroes" and "Coloreds".

Perhaps most of the students should have been labeled as follows:

1. Fat

2. Extremely Fat

3. Dumb as a post

4. Ugly

5. Extremely Ugly

6. Drug abuser

Their classmates get to choose which ones apply to whom. If your child was labeled this way (which might be the truth - by the way) in his/her yearbook, would you be upset? It would be no different than what these people did. And it helps the rest of us make the decision as to which are really mentally deficient.

I'm retarded and I resemble that remark! I'm also ugly, but you all have to tell me I'm handsome! I'm fat but call me plus-sized. The Emperor has no clothes!

There is a difference between someone who is diagnosed as "Mentally Retarded" and one kid calling another a "retard" on the school bus. In many other countries, the term of mentally retarded is still in use. Growing up my best friend was officially labelled as "growth retardation" meaning that coming from a family of people 5'6" and above the most she reached was 4'8". This was NOT an insult to her, it was a clinical diagnosis! Oh, and an interesting side note, she finds the term "Little People" highly offensive and would much prefer you refer to her as what she is, a midget. But funny thing there, all the people who decided "midget" was offensive never bothered to actually ask my short friend what she thought.

Regardless, descriptives like that should not have been in the yearbook. Every student in the school knows that Mrs. X's class is the one for the children who need extra help for whatever reason, there was no valid reason to include that information - not to mention it was simply inappropriate. I understand they wanted to be sure the kids with extra challenges were included, and honestly the students on the yearbook were probably trying to do something nice with it and, in the manner of teenagers, simply didn't think it all the way through. That's where the advisor is supposed to come in.

Bewildered - you might be fat. Or you might be obese. But the appropriate thing to do in polite civilization is to not mention it. And while your post shows that you are mentally deficient in social skills, this is not the same as mentally retarded.

I am sure that you would not be upset when people at a grocery store point out that you, as a fat people, should not eat twinkies. Or that smoking cigarettes will kill you and make you fatter. Or that your beer also makes you fatter.

But in civilized society (clearly outside texas), one does not berate people just because they are fat, stupid, uneducated, and/or engaging in self-destructive behavior.

MonkeyMo:

A "midget" is a tiny race car, not what I would've called your friend, but then, I surely never would've called her "growth retarded, either. I'm not that short, but if I were, I think I'd much rather have been a "midget" than "growth retarded". Even if clinically correct, it sounds like "fighting words".

i'm retarded but... not as retarded as bush or obama...that's being politically correct...

The term retarded has become synonymous with stupid. At least once a week, I hear someone say "That's just retarded." They don't mean "That's so developmentally delayed" or "That's so slow", they mean "That's so stupid."

My child has Down Syndrome. She is retarded and/or delayed, but she is not stupid. It doesn't hurt my feelings when a doctor uses the term in a clinical diagnosis. It hurts me when I hear people use the term flippantly as synonymous with stupid.

In regards to the specific issue of the yearbook . . . I'm not sure what the students' motivations were, but there should have been a supervisor who took a look at this and told them to change it out of respect for their schoolmates.

People with disabilities are already fighting an uphill battle. If you want to die on the hill of not being PC, do it with another group who can better defend themselves.

Mental Retardation is a clinical term. But then you have the following:

"The terms used to describe this condition are subject to a process called the euphemism treadmill. This means that whatever term is chosen for this condition, it eventually becomes perceived as an insult. The terms mental retardation and mentally retarded were invented in the middle of the 20th century to replace the previous set of terms, which were deemed to have become offensive. By the end of the 20th century, these terms themselves have come to be widely seen as disparaging and politically incorrect and in need of replacement.^[2] The term intellectual disability or intellectually challenged is now preferred by most advocates in most English-speaking countries."

So in other words, this trend will continue on forever with the acceptable PC term replaced periodically.

Boston, where you're either a rich snob or a peon worker. I wonder, sickofTomBergeron, are you a rich snob?

Students on the yearbook staff, a team of mostly seniors and a teacher advisor, also did not have parental permission to publish the photos of the students with special needs, Jobe said.

The cops in Boston seem to have something in common with those students: THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT FOLLOWING THE RULES. Oh, did it "hurt" that I made a disparaging remark about Boston, sickofTomBergeron?

Richard-1439774, well said.

7.62 Do you just enjoy being cruel, do you think you're being funny and clever, or are you just stupid?

Pretty sure no one proof reads them. I looked thru my daughters HS yearbook and there were so many typo's. Even when a word was 2" x 11" no one noticed it was misspelled.

The article said there was a teacher "advisor" this person screwed up. When I was in school, eons ago, the teacher advisor approved every single word and picture in the yearbook. This advisor did not do their job, plain and simple.

And yet striking words from the English language, or any language for that matter, won't destroy the idea behind the word. If, for instance wrt race, we don't think of things the way people 80 years ago did, or 150 years ago did, it is because we as a nation and as a society have evolved. It isn't because the language was changed, it was because WE HAVE CHANGED. It's our thoughts and our consciousness which has changed. Removing words won't kill ideas, nor has it ever...

In bygone days, we've seen book burnings, anathemas (though this related to certain ideas falling in disfavor with this or that religion), and yet the idea or the thought didn't necessarily die. In many cases, people simply disappeared from the public scene, but formed various secret societies... And when everything is said and done, ideas couldn't necessarily be killed in all of it.

If the issue some have with certain words, among the PC crowd is that people use this or that in a deragatory way, or that people think certain things; simply trying to squelch speech won't change people's minds, or their hearts, and it won't destroy their way of thinking. The idea would still remain. And people would either find another way to express it, or perhaps they might convey it in non-verbal ways (such as a dirty look, or by body language). This act, is not a substitute for evolution of thought itself, and it couldn't take it's place.

Yeah, it's cruel, and mean to put this in a year book. And yes, the adults in the situation probably should have edited that. This said, if the kids are thinking it, they are thinking it, and probably conveying it in more ways then one. Especially if they chose not to eat with them, sit near them in class, etc... We are also dealing with kids, which along the way do have a few things to learn. But, and this said, trying to limit language, so no one will get their feelings hurt, because this or that word got used this or that way, isn't going to be changing the thought, behind the word....

The same thing could be said when schools tried to ban Huckleberry Fin, because Mark Twain used words that would be bothersome today; perhaps also without regard to the context for any of it, or what value kids might or might not get from reading parts of our own literary past. A knee jerk reaction could also result in this, as in some school districts in years gone by, it had. And yet instead of providing context, or explaining to the class....

Some might also ask, as some had, why people don't just "learn to use this word instead". And yet life is rather short, and who wants to spend a lot of time having to relearn this or that word, as people end up arguing terminology until they can end up missing the thought behind the word. It's also one thing that could happen if someone were to discuss matters with someone from a different religion or a different culture. And yet when all is said and done, if someone really has something they want to discuss or ask, do they really want to get so embroiled in arguments over terminology or dogma, that they could end up failing to see the forest for the trees, or totally miss the intent, behind the words? Hell, they could essenntially (and perhaps unbeknown to either one) end up saying the same thing, but start arguing over the fact they each said it in a different way /rofl

Context. What Mark Twain wrote was NOT inappropriate when he wrote it, anymore than Lincoln's references to "negroes" were. Just because it was socially acceptable to use a certain term in 1850 or 1950 does not mean that it is now. Just as no moral person would consider voting for someone for President today who had owned slaves or considered slavery to be fine.

Crown Point ~ So, shall we go back to using the "N" word? Or Negro? After all, those used to be the accepted terms. The "R" word needs to be completely eliminated from common vernacular. It is a hurtful word and is no more the correct term than "idiot" or "imbecile." And if it's "sugar-coating" to use more compassionate terms, then we are a sad society.

What, we're not allowed to say "@!$%#" anymore? Since when?!?!

@Judy... The N word is out now it's your a obama. PC at its best!.

Chris ~ not in a school yearbook, you sure wouldn't.

As the eldest sister of a brother with Cerebral Palsy- one symptom of which is mental retardation, or developmental delays, I don't generally have an issue with the word when it is being used to accurately describe a medical diagnosis. However, it's use in a high school yearbook is insensitive and possibly incorrect. When it is being used as a slur, it is offensive and I have on more than one occasion gotten into physical altercations with jerks who were picking on my baby brother with that word. My question is why were the students' conditions being listed at all? I have all 4 yearbooks from my high school, and while a section for the special needs students was included, never were individual disabilities pointed out or stated in the yearbook.

Crown Point must be proud...way to go red state...comparing undocumented aliens (who probably work more and contribute more than you do) to special needs students (who i KNOW work more and contribute more than you do)...there's a difference between a cultural adjustment in a category of people, and singling out those people in an irrelevant manner. should there be a separate page for blondes? promiscuous girls? students of divorced parents? there's the honor roll, why not a page for the bottom 10 academically?

What, we're not allowed to say "@!$%#" anymore?

Chris, you kiss your mother with that @!$%# mouth?

Not political correctness, just that they should have just mentioned the students without mentioning any disability. Just treated as the other students. They were singled out. Could have been handled better.

good thinking it's sad that the truth is passed over these days, it's a sad situation when people hide behind polital correctness, when in reallity they are just nutless wonders

I am showing my age, but "retarded' use to be a acceptable term for those who are "special" or challeged" -- Don't know when exactly the word became a "negative" term -- (and now a insult) but in these "PC" times it is -- I am sure this was a honest mistake and not done with mean-spritiedness -- Still the Yearbook advisor should have caught this before it went to press. Hopefully it is a "teachable moment' and all involved will bebefit from the "conversation" --Good luck class of 2012!

I must be the same age as The Painful Truth. Back in the Day, when you said Merry Christmas to someone you were wishing them well. Now so many people claim it offends them and you can be fired from your job for saying it.

Back in the day, Negro was the "PC" word, Gay ment the 1890s, and people suffering from hearing loss and mute were referred to as Deaf and Dumb.

Too bad people freaking out over expressions weren't as concerned with bullying and such

Yes, in our day "mentally retarded" was the politically correct term (although "pc" itself was yet to become a term) to replace "feeble-minded", and black folks were "Negroes" because "colored" was starting to become offensive to some. But times change. And, as some have observed, in twenty years (or probably less) "differently abled" and "intellectually challenged" will be very offensive to some, and a new coinage will be required.

When Vance Packard first critiqued "Planned Obsolesence" he was referring to consumer products, but now I think that it appiles to language as well.

Unfortunately, there is something to saying that PC has gone to a certain extreme, or the wish to avoid hurt feelings has been placed on steroids, when one can read articles about how for instance a school in the UK isn't allowed to refer to flunking a grade or failing a test as such. Instead the term they want is "delayed success". Or kids could get in trouble at school for playing tag, because someone "being it" is likely to hurt someone's self esteem.

Out of the minds of some of these same admins, was the attempt to suspend kids for playing cops and robbers, because "it might turn them into terrorists". Funny that, playing such games as kids, we turned out alright, and didn't turn out "that way"....

omg, what is wrong with you people? its offensive because the word retarded has become synonymous with stupid. Why is that so hard to get through your heads? People with special needs have feelings ya know, would you call a special needs kid retarded to their face? Its not "PC liberal crap" its called being a human @!$%#ing being. Stop trying to be such a hardass and give a @!$%# about peoples feelings for a change. FFS.

nos: I doubt you have the mental capacity to compete.

It might be your opinion, but your opinion is wrong, hurtful, and unfeeling.

I think I detect a Tropic Thunder reference. =-)

Judy, mental retardation is an actual diagnosis for slow mental development. I guess doctors shouldn't use it to diagnose someone with, let's say, mental retardation. Now calling someone a retard is completely different from someone being mentally retarded. What these kids did in the year book was wrong, however saying that someone is mentally retarded is not wrong, hurtful and unfeeling if they are actually, wait for it, mentally retarded. This is what cuethenewt was attempting to say.

thank you mike dp! well said!

That doing cocaine and partying hard wouldn't harm them when they ran for president years later.

daryl - Must be discouraging to realize that most of the 'stupid' Texans have bigger houses, nicer cars and hotter women than you do; and by 'Texan' I mean the children of American citizens.

Don't even go there.......what didn't they learn? The short list of what they did learn is alot easier-what illegal drugs are; how, when, and where to get and use contraceptives....cigarettes are bad for you, but alcohol is OK, after all the government will legislate against one but not the other. They know how to sue their parents for abuse, but not about the Constitution of the country. Oh yeah, and they all got driver's ed and health class warning of the evils of venereal disease with a smattering of how McDonalds and Burger King are not healthful. And if you don't go to class, they make you go to detention, sit in a room with a bunch of other kids and a teacher, and do absolutely nothing......I think that sums up the high school curriculum as far as I have seen it.

Sue, where is it that you live that the govt. hasn't legislated against alcohol? I mean, where you don't have to be 21 to buy it, it is for sale 24/7, and comes with no warning labels, and is available in all stores and all eating places?

Why couldn't they be in the yearbook without the labels!!! Was there a section for school sluts or baby daddies, or nerds, or total a-holes? This PC "crap" shouldn't end. People need to learn to use terms that are not so demeaning. My son was in his school yearbook with his picture right along with all the "normal" kids. Of course, this was in liberal, bleeding heart California. Guess they try to push compassion on their high schoolers there, unlike Texas. (And I AM a Texan born & raised, and now back, so don't even go there.)

They can be in the yearbook with all the other kids, what the parents DON'T want is for them to be singled out as the special eds. And if you can't understand the difference, try having a special section for just the black kids, or the hispanics. Maybe they can list the citizenship status of the hispanics.

Some of our hispanic students are illegals brought here as small children. Others are anchor babies, and a few have green cards! Here's their pics.

"Students on the yearbook staff, a team of mostly seniors and a teacher advisor, also did not have parental permission to publish the photos of the students with special needs, Jobe said."

When I graduated in 1984, our school did not have any special needs students. But since when do you have to get permission to place a student picture in a year book ? Is this something new ? If everyone is to be treated equal (and they should be) then why get permission slips ?

Jeffrey

Since when? Probably since HIPAA. Everyone is treated equally, no one's medical condition should be discussed (or published) without their permission.

O'really … I understand about the medical condition, but the article implies that they needed permission slips to print pictures of the students. Just a picture without any comments in regards to physical limitations should not need a parents okay. That's like saying you need a parental permission slip to put a picture of a fat person in the yearbook because they are obese.

Jeffrey, at the beginning of the school year, your parents (if you're under 18) must sign a bunch of permission forms and one of them is a form stating that your image may be, or may not be, included in any publications, videos, etc. associated with the school. Every parent or student over the age of 18 must sign that form or they will not be photographed or recorded for any publications. At least that's the way it was for my kids, who have all graduated.

Jeffery:

Your school career was probably largely over before the concept of "mainstreaming" hit your school district, or you would've had such "special needs" students in your school. I too went to school before this had happened for the most part; unless such children went to "special" schools they often didn't receive any education all, but this was before IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) had fully kicked in. Basically, a whole lot of things are almost totally different than when we went to school.

Abanksone and Rlquall …. thanks for the info. I guess that I am old .. lol .. I graduated in 1984 and no such forms existed then. Also being in a small school ( 66 people in my graduating class ) probably limited us to such things. Thanks again for the positive feedback, it is always refreshing to read responses from people who are able to look at a comment from different perspectives without being judgmental of someone else's opinion.

Yep by having decent parents who raise their children not to judge, hate or discriminate. Oh wait we're talking about Texas, N/M.

Moparfan, are you going to troll the entire page with your narrow view of the world? It's time to venture out of your mom's basement and see the world. There are amazing people everywhere and you'll soon realize your stereotypical bigotry is mostly unfounded.

Did you even realize the irony in your post?

I bet you are fat.. They should label your picture "Fat" Dave. If nothing else it could be "Jerk" Dave.

This wasn't a clinical setting, so, no, it wasn't appropriate. And I was so angry at your comment, I accidentally hit the check mark. So you don't have a support vote.

I love your comment runningformylife. You have summed the issue up perfectly.

It doesn't matter that the term mentally retarded has been used to diagnose children and adults with Developmental Handicaps. The term mentally retarded has been turned into a derogatory insult directed at anyone a person considers to be less intelligent than they are. It's become an insult by it's use in this manner. And so we've been referring to the children affected by this disorder as Developmentally Handicapped. This is the norm now. I find it interesting that the faculty members assisting the students with the year book didn't know this. Or did they?

It's just sad that people persist in putting labels on others while exempting themselves from the labels they use. My son had learning disabilities in school. He had tutors and went to a special school for a year before they mainstreamed him with continued tutoring. He suffered bullying and constant mocking from the other students. He was laughed at because one of his disabilities affected his coordination, having to do with his spacial orientation. In high school he begged to quit school because he hated it so much. He stood up for himself once and was promptly labeled a trouble maker. He had been harassed by another student on the school bus for three years in high school! His teenage tormenter kicked and tripped him as he left the bus, knocked his books out of his hands and called him "retard". By 12th grade my son was 6'5" tall and built like a brick wall. But this kid persisted because my son was also known as a "gentle giant". The kid got exactly one punch to the face and screamed like a baby. His parents called the police on my son. After all those years of torment my son deserved to have his revenge and even the police said so but my son was punished by the school principal. I'd love for that bully along with all the other creeps who picked on my son to see him now! What they didn't know about this "retard" is that he has an IQ of 150 and was actually smarter than all of them. I wish people would understand that a physical or mental handicap does not make a person stupid. Even those with low IQ can be smart in other ways such as a young man at church who knows everyone's name, even those who haven't been there in years. He remembers everything about each person. It's remarkable. As a parent of a one of those so called "retards" I think schools should spend a little time teaching students about the different conditions that cause others to be or appear to be "slow" or backward and awkward. Kids can be taught to understand. Ignorance is what leads them to such "misunderstandings" as what caused the year book issue.

It is obvious that School Education has come down. Just think: the same ones who are paid to TEACH

ignored the meaning of "retarded" and its implications.

Even under the fact that there many people on earth who don't reach same intelligence levels,

there are reasons to excercise the moral principles that govern civilized cultures.

In few words: retarded, idiot, stupid etc. are words used mostly to put others down than oneself

You want it more clear? Let's find yourself been addressed with such words! How happy had these

words made you...? May be you just forgot "do onto others what you wish they do onto you." And they

will!!! You can be sure of that.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tony

Hey Manuel,

And you, IGNORAMOUS, will hopefully have an IQ above 70 someday!

What does it matter the "size" of the school? Hijaz and Doverspike are soon to be graduating Seniors. They should know better!

Exactly, Rich. That's the direction that America is going in. People's feelings mean more than anything nowadays. China is laughing at us. They just bought a major American theater chain. They'll buy the US military next.