Strong Kids
Spread the Word to End the Word
This week, Cafe 601 at the University of Rochester Medical Center broke into a party, celebrating with a DJ and a blues band the many pledges from its diners to end the use of the “R-word.”
All across the University of Rochester, other groups joined The Golisano Foundation to Spread the Word to End the Word. with the encouragement of developmental pediatricians at Golisano Children’s Hospital and the school’s chapter of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry. Eastman Dental set up a table in its lobby and took pledges, and for the first time, our friends on the University of Rochester‘s River Campus joined in taking pledges and celebrating our differences.
Medical School and River Campus students aimed to inspire respect and acceptance of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities through raising the consciousness of society about the hurtful impact of the “R-word” (“retard” or “retarded”). Students got pledges from hundreds of people while also raising awareness of abilities, not disabilities.
Have you taken the pledge yet? Take it now at www.r-word.org.