I have a cousin who is not intellectually disabled. She is, however, dyslexic as all hell. Like, really, really dyslexic. To the point where they treated her as HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE in school. Now, don't get me wrong. She's not setting the world on fire. She certainly is on the low end of average on the brains spectrum. But she still is a fully-functioning adult member of society. And I love her like a sister in 49 states (I don't do WV-style sister-love).
But because she heard it so often as a kid, she really, really hates the word "retard." Like, a lot.
So I try not to use it around her. But I also work with/on behalf of mentally HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE people. And yes, we've shifted to calling it "intellectual disability" over the past few years.
That said, euphemisms don't change what a thing is and I'm not going to pretend being
intellectually disabled is a
good thing just to not hurt feelings.
Which is why while I'm sure most have seen it, I'm sharing this anyhow, because it's among my favorite R&M moments.
YouTube Video Placeholder