Rhode Island House votes to drop R-word

From The AP:

PROVIDENCE, R. I. -— House lawmakers unanimously voted March 24 to remove the word “retardation” from the name of the state Department of Mental Health, Retardation, and Hospitals.

The bill, which passed on a vote of 67-0 in the House, would change the name to the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. The bill must still be passed by the Senate.

The Special Olympics last year launched a campaign to banish the word “retard.“ The term “mental retardation” was once a common medical term but is now considered by many to be offensive. Instead, the American Psychiatric Association has proposed using the term “intellectual disability.“

Rep. Frank Ferri, D-Warwick, and Rep. Joseph McNamara, who co-sponsored the bill, on Wednesday recognized the work of supporters who pushed to remove the term from the department’s name, including the head of the agency, Craig Stenning. Stenning said this month he had met with representatives of the Special Olympics and Best Buddies, a group that works people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, about making the change.

“Its time has come. I know there’s a national effort to take the ‘R word’ out, and I’m proud to be a part of that,“ Ferri said on the House floor shortly before the vote.

Republican Gov. Don Carcieri, whose late sister had Down Syndrome, also said this month he supports the change.

Rhode Island is just the latest state to take up the issue. Others include Connecticut and Massachusetts, which have removed the term “retardation” from state agency names, and West Virginia and Idaho, where lawmakers are considering removing the term “mental retardation” from state law books.