Time to Ditch the Word 'Retard'?

'Retard' a painful word for mother of daughter with Downs

(NEWSER) - Patricia E. Bauer suffers every time her Downs syndrome daughter hears the word "retard." When Bauer saw ads for Tropic Thunder, which jokes about retardation, they echoed every insult that her blond, blue-eyed daughter had endured for 24 years. After weeks of debate, Bauer remains stunned by ads that feature "the word ‘retard’ without a thought to the consequences," she writes in the Washington Post More»

(NEWSER) - The London woman banished to the Abercrombie & Fitch stockroom because of her prosthetic arm has been awarded more $13,000 by an employment tribunal, the BBC reports. Riam Dean wore a cardigan to cover the joint between her prosthesis and her body, but the sweater clashed with the retailer’s “look policy.” The tribunal found that policy a violation of employment law, but did not find discrimination. More»

New MTV show a surprising success

(NEWSER) - A new MTV show that features the mentally disabled interviewing celebs and average folks, isn’t as offensive as it sounds, Ellen Gray writes in the Philadelphia Daily News. The show—How's Your News? from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, is actually an inclusive endeavor that proves people with developmental disabilities are diverse and competent. It debuts Sunday. More»

Some suspect animal owners of abusing of special privileges

(NEWSER) - Miniature horses trek through supermarkets and monkeys queue up at restaurant buffets these days—all to guide the blind, the disabled, and the anxiety-ridden, Rebecca Skloot writes in the New York Times Magazine. But the increasing prevalence of wild and farm service animals among the civilized is reigniting the debate over accommodations for those with special needs. More»

Profession will remain reserved for the blind in South Korea

(NEWSER) - A South Korean court has upheld a law allowing only blind people to work as masseurs, the AP reports. The profession has been reserved for the blind for almost a century, but a legal battle had raged for years over the constitutionality of the rule. The perceived threat to their livelihood sparked huge protests and two suicides among the country's 7,000 blind masseurs. More»