Special education.?

[coloradobabe14]

Alright. So I have been involved with special needs children since before I can remember. I'm 14. I love it. I give away my summers to help at ESY (Extended School Year) and I babysit for disabled kids. I can call myself an advocate. However, i swear there is a question here lol, I seem to I guess "overreact" when people say 'retard and retarded'. When people say it as "your retarded!" or "you retard!" in a joking way, i tell them not to day that word. they dont know what it means obviously. they say, "i wasnt saying it that way." it really pisses me off. I love my kids that i work with as if they were my own brothers and sisters or even my own children. people say retarded meaning it as "mentally retarded." that is NOT pollitically correct. the correct way to say it would be significantly disabled. or even mentally challanged. i dont understand why people say retard/retarded all the time, when they wouldnt DARE say the N word. It pisses me off that people say that, thinking it doesnt
....effect people with disabilities.

when someone says it, it triggers something in me that hurts. i wish that even parents would not only tell kids that the s/f/n/sh words are bad but retarded doesnt effect anyone and that its okay to say that. it hurts me to tell you the truth.
im not trying to change the entire population from saying those words. i know there are words out there that are offensive. my question was why are people okay with it? why are people okay even jokeingly saying fag, n word, retard/ed. it sucks that people can be so ignorant. why arent parents teaching kids (especially my generation) that thats NOT okay to use those words. when someone says "your so retarded" and notices im there, they change it to, "i mean your so.. stupid." that makes it even worse because its like, okay so someone that is profoundly disabled is stupid? what?!?! my mom is a coordinator for the school system for special education. so i know the terms.

and thank you. i hope to be an advocate as well as a teacher/behaviorial/speech or OT.