[Counselor_Educ] Fwd: [NRCA] Senate Law Seeks to Replace "Mental Retardation" with "Intellectual Disability"
robinsoh at ohio.edu
robinsoh at ohio.edu
Mon Nov 23 08:54:30 EST 2009
----- Forwarded message from NRCAOFFICE at aol.com -----
From: NRCAOFFICE at aol.com
To: NRCA at sword.net
Subject: [NRCA] Senate Law Seeks to Replace "Mental Retardation"
with "Intellectual Disability"
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:46:11 EST
-------------------------------1258983971
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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=20
November 18, 2009
=20
Senate Law Seeks to Replace "Mental Retardation" with "Intellectual=20
Disability" - Community Applauds
=20
=20
Press Release from Senator Mikulski (11/17/09):
SENATOR MIKULSKI INTRODUCES BILL TO STRIKE TERMS =E2=80=9CMENTAL RETARDATI=
ON=E2=80=9D AND=20
=E2=80=9CMENTALLY RETARDED=E2=80=9D FROM FEDERAL LAWBOOKS
=E2=80=9CRosa=E2=80=99s Law=E2=80=9D honors young girl whose brother said=
, =E2=80=9C=E2=80=A6 what you call=20
people is how you treat them.=E2=80=9D=20
WASHINGTON, D.C. =E2=80=93 U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski today introd=
uced =E2=80=9C
Rosa=E2=80=99s Law,=E2=80=9D a bill that will eliminate the terms =E2=80=
=9Cmental retardation=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9C
mentally retarded=E2=80=9D from the federal law books. U.S. Senator Micha=
el B.=20
Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension=
s =20
Committee, is the Republican sponsor of the bill. =20
Under Rosa=E2=80=99s Law, those terms would be replaced with =E2=80=9Cint=
ellectual=20
disability=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cindividual with an intellectual disabilit=
y=E2=80=9D in federal=20
education, health and labor law. The bill does not expand or diminish ser=
vices,=20
rights or educational opportunities. It simply makes the federal law lang=
uage=20
consistent with that used by the Centers for Disease Control, the World =
=20
Health Organization and the President of the United States, through his =
=20
Committee on Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. =20
Rosa=E2=80=99s Law replicates a law recently adopted in Maryland. Senato=
r=20
Mikulski first heard about the state law from Rosa=E2=80=99s mother durin=
g a roundtable=20
discussion about special education held in Edgewater, Maryland. Due to=20
requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),=
each=20
student who receives special education services at public schools has an=
=20
individualized education program (IEP) that describes the student=E2=80=
=99s disability=20
and the special education and services that child will receive. Rosa has=
an=20
intellectual disability =E2=80=93 Downs Syndrome =E2=80=93 and so was des=
ignated as a=20
student with =E2=80=9Cmental retardation=E2=80=9D in her IEP, giving way=
to people at the=20
school referring to Rosa as retarded. Senator Mikulski promised Rosa=E2=
=80=99s mother=20
that if the bill became law in Maryland, she would take it to the floor=
of=20
the United States Senate. =20
=E2=80=9CThis bill is driven by a passion for social justice and compassio=
n for =20
the human condition,=E2=80=9D said Senator Mikulski, a senior member of th=
e HELP =20
Committee. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ve done a lot to come out of the dark ages=
of =20
institutionalization and exclusion when it comes to people with intellectu=
al disabilities. I=20
urge my colleagues to join me to take a step further. The disability=20
community deserves it. Rosa deserves it.=E2=80=9D=20
=E2=80=9CMental retardation=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cmentally retarded=E2=80=
=9D are terms commonly used in=20
federal laws, including the Individual With Disabilities Education Act,=
the=20
Higher Education Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also=20
known as No Child Left Behind, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. =20
=E2=80=9CWe know now that words have meaning, sometimes far beyond what=
we intend,=E2=80=9D
added Senator Enzi. =E2=80=9CTherefore, we must be very careful about=
the way we=20
describe the people we see every day, including those with disabilities,=
=20
or those who are undergoing treatment for a variety of health issues. =20
Unfortunately, the federal government has not dropped this term from our=
laws=20
and it still appears in the regulations and statutes that come before our=
=20
legislative bodies and our courts. I am pleased to have this opportunity=
to=20
join my colleague from Maryland, Senator Mikulski, in introducing Rosa=E2=
=80=99s law.=20
I would like to thank her for her leadership and her commitment on this=
=20
issue. Simply put, this legislation will make an important change in the=
=20
words we use to refer to those with intellectual disabilities. It is a=
much=20
needed change in the law that is fully deserving of our support.=E2=80=9D=
=20
When Rosa=E2=80=99s Law was being considered by the Maryland General Asse=
mbly, Rosa
=E2=80=99s 13-year-old brother, Nick, successfully testified on her behal=
f for a=20
substitution of mentally retarded with intellectual disability. He=20
explained, =E2=80=9CSome people say they are just words, and it=E2=80=99s=
not going to make a=20
difference if we just change the words. Some say we shouldn=E2=80=99t wor=
ry about the=20
words, just the way we treat people. But when you think about it, what yo=
u=20
call people is how you treat them! If we change the words, maybe it=E2=80=
=99ll be the=20
start of a new attitude towards people with intellectual disabilities.=20
They deserve it.=E2=80=9D=20
=E2=80=9CSenator Mikulski=E2=80=99s bill is a most welcome and necessary=
step in ending =20
the pervasive discrimination against the 7 million people living with =20
intellectual disabilities in this country,=E2=80=9D stated Peter V. Berns,=
the Chief =20
Executive Officer of The Arc of the U.S. =E2=80=9CWith federal adoption of=
the term =E2=80=98
intellectual disability=E2=80=99 perhaps our society and others will begin=
to =20
understand the legitimacy of the condition and treat those living with it=
in a =20
more respectful fashion.=E2=80=9D=20
The Arc is the world=E2=80=99s largest community based organization of and=
for =20
people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an ar=
ray=20
of services and support for families and individuals and includes over=20
140,000 members affiliated through more than 780 state and local chapters=
across=20
the nation. The Arc is devoted to promoting and improving supports and=20
services for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities=
.=20
Rosa=E2=80=99s Law has garnered support from six additional cosponsors fro=
m both =20
sides of the aisle, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Senator Benjamin L.=
=20
Cardin (D-Md.), Senator Lamar Alexander (R- Tenn.), Senator John Barrasso=
=20
(R-Wyo.), Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Sen=
ator=20
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), as well as more th=
an=20
30 national organizations to date:=20
_http://mikulski.senate.gov/_pdfs/Press/Organizations.pdf_ (http://mikulsk=
i.senate.gov/_pdfs/Press/Organizations.pdf)=20
. =20
-------------------------------1258983971
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<DIV>
<H2 class=3Ddate-header>November 18, 2009</H2>
<DIV=20
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<H3 class=3Dentry-header>Senate Law Seeks to Replace "Mental Retardation"=
with=20
"Intellectual Disability" - Community Applauds</H3>
<DIV class=3Dentry-content>
<DIV class=3Dentry-body>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><S=
PAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><SPAN=
=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 13px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Press Release from Senator=
Mikulski=20
(11/17/09):</SPAN></SPAN><STRONG><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><BR></S=
PAN></STRONG></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><STRONG><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><FONT=
=20
face=3D"">SENATOR MIKULSKI INTRODUCES BILL TO STRIKE TERMS =E2=80=9CMENTAL=
RETARDATION=E2=80=9D=20
AND =E2=80=9CMENTALLY RETARDED=E2=80=9D FROM FEDERAL=20
LAWBOOKS</FONT></SPAN></STRONG><STRONG><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><BR><BR=
></SPAN></STRONG><FONT=20
face=3D""><EM><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">=E2=80=
=9CRosa=E2=80=99s Law=E2=80=9D=20
honors young girl whose brother said, =E2=80=9C=E2=80=A6 what you call peo=
ple is how you treat=20
them.=E2=80=9D</SPAN></EM><STRONG><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><O:P></=
O:P></SPAN></STRONG></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT face=3D""><STRONG=
><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 's=
erif'">WASHINGTON,=20
D.C.</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 's=
erif'">=20
=E2=80=93 <STRONG>U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski </STRONG>today introduc=
ed =E2=80=9CRosa=E2=80=99s=20
Law,=E2=80=9D a bill that will eliminate the terms =E2=80=9Cmental retarda=
tion=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cmentally=20
retarded=E2=80=9D from the federal law books. <STRONG>U.S. Senator Michael=
B. Enzi=20
(R-Wyo.)</STRONG>, Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pens=
ions=20
Committee, is the Republican sponsor of the bill. <O:P></O:P></SPAN></FONT=
></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 's=
erif'"><FONT=20
face=3D"">Under <EM>Rosa=E2=80=99s Law</EM>, those terms would be replaced=
with=20
=E2=80=9Cintellectual disability=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cindividual with an=
intellectual disability=E2=80=9D in=20
federal education, health and labor law. The bill does not expand or dimin=
ish=20
services, rights or educational opportunities. It simply makes the federal=
law=20
language consistent with that used by the Centers for Disease Control, the=
World=20
Health Organization and the President of the United States, through his=20
Committee on Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.=20
<O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT face=3D""><EM><SP=
AN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 's=
erif'">Rosa=E2=80=99s=20
Law</SPAN></EM><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 's=
erif'">=20
replicates a law recently adopted in Maryland. Senator Mikulski first hear=
d=20
about the state law from Rosa=E2=80=99s mother during a roundtable discuss=
ion about=20
special education held in Edgewater, Maryland. Due to requirements in the=
=20
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), each student who recei=
ves=20
special education services at public schools has an individualized educati=
on=20
program (IEP) that describes the student=E2=80=99s disability and the spec=
ial education=20
and services that child will receive. Rosa has an intellectual disability=
=E2=80=93=20
Downs Syndrome =E2=80=93 and so was designated as a student with =E2=80=9C=
mental retardation=E2=80=9D in=20
her IEP, giving way to people at the school referring to Rosa as retarded.=
=20
Senator Mikulski promised Rosa=E2=80=99s mother that if the bill became la=
w in Maryland,=20
she would take it to the floor of the United States Senate.=20
<O:P></O:P></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 's=
erif'"><FONT=20
face=3D"">=E2=80=9CThis bill is driven by a passion for social justice and=
compassion for=20
the human condition,=E2=80=9D said Senator Mikulski, a senior member of th=
e HELP=20
Committee. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ve done a lot to come out of the dark ages=
of=20
institutionalization and exclusion when it comes to people with intellectu=
al=20
disabilities. I urge my colleagues to join me to take a step further. The=
=20
disability community deserves it. Rosa deserves=20
it.=E2=80=9D<O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoListParagraph style=3D"MARGIN-LEFT: 0in"> =E2=80=9CMent=
al retardation=E2=80=9D=20
and =E2=80=9Cmentally retarded=E2=80=9D are terms commonly used in federal=
laws, including the=20
Individual With Disabilities Education Act, the Higher Education Act, the=
=20
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind=
, and=20
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. </P>
<P class=3DMsoListParagraph style=3D"MARGIN-LEFT: 0in">=E2=80=9CWe know no=
w that words have=20
meaning, sometimes far beyond what we intend,=E2=80=9D added Senator Enzi.=
=20
=E2=80=9CTherefore, we must be very careful about the way we describe the=
people we see=20
every day, including those with disabilities, or those who are undergoing=
=20
treatment for a variety of health issues. Unfortunately, the federal=
=20
government has not dropped this term from our laws and it still appears in=
the=20
regulations and statutes that come before our legislative bodies and our=
courts.=20
I am pleased to have this opportunity to join my colleague from Maryland,=
=20
Senator Mikulski, in introducing Rosa=E2=80=99s law. I would like to=
thank her for=20
her leadership and her commitment on this issue. Simply put, this=20
legislation will make an important change in the words we use to refer to=
those=20
with intellectual disabilities. It is a much needed change in the la=
w that=20
is fully deserving of our support.=E2=80=9D</P>
<P class=3DMsoListParagraph style=3D"MARGIN-LEFT: 0in">When Rosa=E2=80=99s=
Law was being=20
considered by the Maryland General Assembly, Rosa=E2=80=99s 13-year-old br=
other, Nick,=20
successfully testified on her behalf for a substitution of mentally retard=
ed=20
with intellectual disability. He explained, =E2=80=9CSome people say they=
are just=20
words, and it=E2=80=99s not going to make a difference if we just change=
the words. Some=20
say we shouldn=E2=80=99t worry about the words, just the way we treat peop=
le. But when=20
you think about it, what you call people is how you treat them! If we chan=
ge the=20
words, maybe it=E2=80=99ll be the start of a new attitude towards people=
with=20
intellectual disabilities. They deserve it.=E2=80=9D</P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><FONT=
=20
face=3D"">=E2=80=9CSenator Mikulski=E2=80=99s bill is a most welcome and=
necessary step in ending=20
the pervasive discrimination against the 7 million people living with=20
intellectual disabilities in this country,=E2=80=9D stated Peter V. Berns,=
the Chief=20
Executive Officer of The Arc of the U.S. =E2=80=9CWith federal adopti=
on of the term=20
=E2=80=98intellectual disability=E2=80=99 perhaps our society and others=
will begin to=20
understand the legitimacy of the condition and treat those living with it=
in a=20
more respectful fashion.=E2=80=9D</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><FONT=
=20
face=3D"">The Arc is the world=E2=80=99s largest community based organizat=
ion of and for=20
people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an ar=
ray of=20
services and support for families and individuals and includes over 140,00=
0=20
members affiliated through more than 780 state and local chapters acr=
oss=20
the nation. The Arc is devoted to promoting and improving supports and ser=
vices=20
for all people with intellectual and developmental=20
disabilities.<O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'"><FONT=
=20
face=3D"">Rosa=E2=80=99s Law has garnered support from six additional cosp=
onsors from both=20
sides of the aisle, <STRONG>Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)</STRONG>,=20
<STRONG>Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.)</STRONG>, <STRONG>Senator Lamar=
=20
Alexander (R- Tenn.), Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senator Richard Burr=
=20
(R-N.C.), Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.)</STRONG>, <STRONG>Senator Tom Harkin=
=20
(D-Iowa)</STRONG>, and<STRONG> Senator John Thune (R-S.D.),</STRONG> as we=
ll as=20
more than 30 national organizations to date: </FONT><A=20
title=3Dhttp://mikulski.senate.gov/_pdfs/Press/Organizations.pdf=20
href=3D"http://mikulski.senate.gov/_pdfs/Press/Organizations.pdf"><FONT=20
face=3D"">http://mikulski.senate.gov/_pdfs/Press/Organizations.pdf</FONT><=
/A><FONT=20
face=3D"">.=20
<O:P></O:P></FONT></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></H=
TML>
-------------------------------1258983971--
----- End forwarded message -----
Mona Robinson, Ph.D., PCC, CRC
Assistant Professor
Rehabilitation Counseling and Chillicothe Program Coordinator
President-Elect, NAMRC
Ohio University
386 McCracken Hall
Athens, Ohio 45701
740-593-4461 Office
740-593-0477 Fax
robinsoh at ohio.edu
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