Growing up, I remember some kids asking me, “Hey Lisa did you know that you are retarded?”

I remember them calling me that because I was different than most of the kids at my school. At the time, I didn’t really understand what it meant but I knew it wasn’t a compliment. Later on, I knew the R-word was often used as an insult for those who have disabilities.

Call me a snowflake, but that word does, in fact, offend me. It hurts when you have basically been called slow and stupid at school and had no idea the harsh reality behind the word as of recent.

Maybe you use that word if something bad happens, maybe you use that word in the heat of the moment, maybe you have called someone that because you are mad at them.

However, the next time you say that word, think about your friend who may have a disability. What if your child has a disability? What if you said that in front of someone’s child? They may think it’s an appropriate word to start using.

While we can’t completely eliminate the word, we can convince others to stop using it. Yes, free speech is important but that shouldn’t mean its OK to insult people.

Recently, good news came out that Sesame Street was introducing their very first character with autism, which I thought was a major step towards acceptance and awareness for children with not only autism, but any disability.

Fox News shared that story and its comments were less than nice. I know that, inevitably, there are mean people in the world and that not everyone is going to like you. However, many of those adults were being very insulting to children, even saying words like  “libtards” and even bringing up vaccination, which has still not yet been proven to cause autism.

While it is your choice on what words to use, you should be careful with how you use them. You should think about your family, your future children, your friends, anyone for that matter think about how they would feel.

Maybe we can’t take the word out of the dictionary however we don’t have to say it, because those words do hurt people and it can affect them long term.

People with disabilities have so much to offer the world, but you have to give them a chance. I know people with disabilities will have success in life. We are not stupid and dumb and we wont be brought down by that word.

Lets be the generation that puts that word to rest. The only way we can stop it is not say it anymore. I am doing my part and now its up to you.