"Retardation" terms not supported by Ohioans

A day after election results showed more than 67 percent of voters approved Issue 5, 'MR/DD levy renewal' , Hamilton County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability center officially removed of the term "mental retardation" from their organizational name.

It will now be known as Hamilton County Developmental Disability Services (HCDDS). The organization had a name-changing ceremony and literally removed the letter’s ‘M’ and ‘R’ from their building sign with a cherry picker.

“People who use our services and their families have found ‘mental retardation’ so offensive for so long,” said Jenny Dexter, HCDDS director of community relations. “It should have to go without saying, but we abhor the use of the word ‘retard.’ We always refer to the person first rather than his or her disability. We say ‘child with autism’ rather than ‘autistic child.’”

Gov. Ted Strickland signed Senate Bill 79 on Aug. 28, which was unanimously supported by the House and Senate. It requires all government organizations to remove the term ‘mental retardation’ from their organizational names by Oct. 7.

“I appreciate the Governor’s support for this very important bill,” said State Senator Jimmy Stewart. “[This] marks a monumental victory for the thousands of developmentally disabled Ohioans who contribute to much of the state and their local communities.”

Many students and faculty didn’t know about the bill, but they noticed the need for it.

“In today’s society, we definitely recognize the term more as an insult than a medical condition,” said Steven Fuller, adjunct communication professor.

Many individuals with disabilities worked to have Ohio hear their voices.

“We got letters back from many of our visits [to the Statehouse] telling us that [legislative members] would support the removal of the word retarded’ from official state language,” said Troy Moore, a member of The Arc Hamilton County, an non-profit organization that rallies for opportunities for those with developmental disabilities and self-advocate.

Self-Advocates are individuals with disabilities that have gone through training to advocate for what they believe they deserve. Moore was proud to be one of the few self-advocates able to attend the name signing ceremony for Senate Bill 79 on Aug. 28.

Patty McMahon, information and referral coordinator of The Arc Hamilton County, is happy to be in a state that no longer uses the term “mental retardation.”

“We don’t want people having a marred identity,” said Patty McMahon. “Disability is just a part of who people are. It’s not all of them.”