Not only that, the parents/guardians/teachers who get their kids involved with Special Olympics are more likely to be instilling in these people a sense of self esteem and purpose in life that would exist even if SO didn't. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with economic level as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AOII Angel
Semantics rears it's ugly head again. Changing the name without changing the intended meaning only makes people feel better until they realize that the same thing is being said. Now "special" has an ugly sound to it.
|
See: Welcome To The Dollhouse and Dawn's "Special People Club."
Tangent: IMO, here is no real danger or detriment to calling a 23 year old person who's been tested throughout life and who without any question has the IQ of a 3 year old a mentally retarded individual. There IS a real danger in labeling a child at too early an age and them having to carry a label forever that doesn't apply. Some of my friends are struggling with this - their kids are getting called autistic or Asperger's and they don't think it's necessarily true. It seems we are coming at the problem from the wrong end.