When I was younger, I never thought my sister was different. I knew that she needed a little more help but not she wasn't different. When I was younger I never thought the whispers coming from strangers, the laughs coming from people passing by were because of my sister. Why would anyone laugh at her? I mean the scar on her lip was because she had fallen while having a seizure. Didn't they know? Didn't they know how much it hurt her, how much it hurt a mom to see their child go through something like that? I still remember this day as if it was yesterday, I was sitting under three thick blankets. My head was hurting and I wanted to block out my mom's complaining about how the super didnt put the heat on. “Ullu ka putta” she said. Meaning what a fool. My sister started laughing, which in turn made me laugh. All of a sudden her laugh stopped her eyes rolled back and she was falling towards the carpet floor. My mom made sure that everywhere she could a carpet she put a carpet liked the stairs all the bedrooms dinning room, living room. But my reflex was to get up and run to her as quickly as I can but mom and dad beat me to it. Her seizures were really bad back in the day. She would have foam come out of her mouth, her lips turn black and blue. The same thing happened that day. My mom was stroking her hair as her head laid on my mom's lap. My dad massaging her feet to help relieve the pain. Now you might be wondering what I was doing. I was in my room. I walked away . I've always done that. It was just an instinct. I always told myself “they've got this you can go now:” but the truth was I couldn't never bear to see my sister in pain. Knowing that every muscle and vein was being stretched and cramped was too much to handle.
you can go now:” but the truth was I couldn't never bear to see my sister in pain. Knowing that every muscle and vein was being stretched and cramped was too much to handle.
I started using the word when I was in 6th grade, I fell into the hole of following and trends. Now you may be wondering why I stopped using the word, why I stopped treating it like an adjective. When my sisters health was declining she was having seizures twice a day sometimes. I wanted to help. And I knew the only way I can help is if I fully understand. So I started doing as much research my 12 year old brain could handle. Then I vividly remember coming across the words Mental retardation. I soon realized that my sister's disability is apart of the branch of Mental retardation. Everything is wrong with using the word Retarded.
While I was researching for this speech, i'm not going to lie I had little cries to myself. Seeing families talking about how much it hurts them when a word is thrown around. But I knew I wouldn't be able to find a story, interview that would show a first person perspective, until I found out about John Franklin Stephens. “The hardest thing about having an intellectual disability is the loneliness,” he once wrote in The Denver Post. “We are aware when all the rest of you stop and just look at us. We are aware when you look at us and just say, ‘uh huh,’ and then move on, talking to each other. You mean no harm, but you have no idea how alone we feel even when we are with you”.(stephens). My sister doesn't have a voice. She can't express how she feels because she doesn't even know what's going on, or that there's a word that's being used against her. But John does! He's able to give an insight that words hurt them as much as it hurts a “ normal” person. He continues to say “So, why am I hurt when I hear “retard.” Let’s face it, nobody uses the word as a term of praise. At best, it is used as another way of saying “stupid” or “loser.” At worst, it is aimed directly at me as a way to label me as an outcast — a thing, not a person. I am not stupid. I am not a loser. I am not a thing. I am a person.”(stephens)
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