Stopping The 'R' Word

NewsOn6.com

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - A Shawnee High School student lobbied state lawmakers this week, urging them to help prevent the use of derogatory terms to describe people with disabilities.           

Alie Walsh, whose older sister Jenny has a disability, specifically urged legislators to discourage the use of the words "retarded" or "retard" as derogatory terms.   

"To me to hear someone use the word ‘retarded' as a putdown just doesn't line up, because I would never think of something that describes Jenny as a putdown," Alie Walsh said. 

Walsh told state lawmakers, her sister was the prom queen at Shawnee and participates in competitive swimming and dancing activities. 

Alie Walsh spoke before the state House on Tuesday.