On March 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the UMass Medical School chapter of Best Buddies, an international organization that fosters friendships between individuals with disabilities and those without, will be urging the public to stop using words that can be hurtful to people who have disabilities.
The event, which is being held in the old medical school lobby, coincides with the national Spread the Word to End the Word campaign. The campaign is focused on educating people about how incorrect use of the words “retard,” or “retarded” to describe something in a negative way is supporting the stigma that people with development disabilities face every day.
Katelyn Soares, a first-year medical student at UMMS and member of the UMMS Best Buddies chapter, helped organized the event. On Wednesday, she will be alongside fellow Best Buddies to hand out pamphlets and other information to educate the community in hopes of wiping out the R-words from our vocabulary.
“People don’t realize how much using the words ‘retard,’ or ’retarded’ can hurt people,” Soares said. “We feel it's important for UMMS to take a stand and get behind this cause. Even if we don't know someone who has a disability personally, we will have patients one day who do. It's so important to be sensitive to that fact, and to treat them no differently than we would any other patient.”
Medical student Justin Pespisa launched the Best Buddies chapter at UMMS in 2014 to promote friendships between adults with intellectual disabilities and aspiring doctors and advanced practice nurses, and to reinforce the importance of compassion in health care. Currently, 48 medical students are paired in one-to-one friendships with 48 adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities from the Greater Worcester community.
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