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Spread the Word

Spread the Word is a global campaign launched in 2009 by Special Olympics and Best Buddies International to eradicate the derogatory use of the term "retard" or "retarded" in reference to people with intellectual disabilities and to foster broader societal inclusion.^[1]^[2] Originally focused on collecting pledges from students and others to stop using the R-word—a phrase identified as the most common slur demeaning individuals with disabilities—the initiative began as a youth-led effort created by two high school students during a Special Olympics event.^[1]^[3] By 2018, it had expanded to thousands of schools worldwide, amassing over 820,000 pledges by 2020.^[4]^[2] In 2019, following a decade of targeting specific language, the campaign rebranded to "Spread the Word: Inclusion" to emphasize actionable steps toward integrating people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in schools, communities, and workplaces, providing resources for events, anti-bullying efforts, and inclusive practices.^[3] Despite these efforts, empirical observations indicate a resurgence in R-word usage in recent years, suggesting limitations in achieving lasting behavioral change through pledge-based awareness alone.^[5]^[6]

Founding and Early History

Origins in 2009

The Spread the Word to End the Word campaign was established in February 2009 by Soeren Palumbo, a junior at the University of Notre Dame whose sister has an intellectual disability, and Tim Shriver, a junior at Yale University with experience coaching Special Olympics athletes.^[7]^[8] The initiative emerged from their involvement in Special Olympics youth programs, particularly the Global Youth Activation Summit, where they recognized the need for peer-driven efforts to address derogatory language.^[9]^[8] Palumbo's drive was rooted in a personal incident where children taunted his sister in a store, using "retard" to mock her condition and underscoring the term's role in perpetuating exclusion and devaluation of individuals with intellectual disabilities.^[7] Shriver contributed insights from observing the word's routine deployment in casual speech, which reinforced negative stereotypes and hindered inclusion efforts central to Special Olympics' objectives.^[7]^[9] Together, they framed the campaign as a voluntary, student-initiated push to eliminate "retard" and "retarded" as slurs, prioritizing attitudinal change through awareness over regulatory measures.^[7] The inaugural National Awareness Day occurred on March 31, 2009, mobilizing pledges from thousands of participants across more than 40 college campuses and dozens of high schools to refrain from the targeted language.^[10]^[11] This event marked the campaign's debut as a decentralized, youth-led movement, leveraging personal testimonies and peer commitments to foster respect for people with intellectual disabilities.^[7]^[10]

Initial Launch and Grassroots Growth

The Spread the Word to End the Word campaign launched in early 2009, initiated by university students Soeren Palumbo of the University of Notre Dame and Tim Shriver of Yale University during the Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit held in February.^[12] ^[13] The effort quickly gained traction through youth-led activities in U.S. educational institutions, featuring rallies, assemblies, and pledge-signing events aimed at discouraging use of the term "retard" or "retarded" as a slur.^[14] ^[15] Formal partnerships with Special Olympics and Best Buddies International provided foundational support, including distribution of pledge cards, posters, and basic toolkits to schools and student groups for organizing local events.^[12] ^[16] These resources enabled voluntary, decentralized participation without mandated structures, emphasizing peer-to-peer mobilization in high schools and colleges.^[14] By 2010, the campaign had seen widespread grassroots uptake, with events occurring across numerous K-12 schools and universities, alongside emerging social media efforts to amplify pledges and awareness.^[14] Over 100,000 individuals had signed pledges vowing to eliminate the R-word from their vocabulary, reflecting organic growth driven by student initiatives and early media mentions.^[14] ^[15] Participation remained contingent on self-organized school activities, lacking formal enforcement mechanisms.^[15]

Core Objectives and Strategies

Focus on Eliminating the R-Word

The "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign, launched in 2009, centered its initial efforts on eradicating casual use of the R-word—"retard" or "retarded"—which originated as a clinical descriptor for intellectual disabilities but had devolved into a widespread slur equating cognitive limitations with worthlessness.^[17] Proponents argued that repeated invocation of the term in slang contexts causally reinforced negative stereotypes, embedding exclusionary attitudes by associating intellectual disability with ridicule rather than humanity, thereby hindering social integration of affected individuals.^[2] This linguistic focus stemmed from observations of the word's prevalence in everyday discourse, including media and peer interactions, where it functioned as a casual insult detached from its medical roots yet perpetuating stigma.^[18] Core strategies included organizing annual awareness events on March 1, designated as "Spread the Word to End the Word" day, featuring school assemblies, online pledges, and public commitments to abstain from the term.^[19] Participants were encouraged to sign pledges via dedicated platforms, with early campaigns mobilizing thousands through high school and college events; by September 2020, over 820,000 individuals had pledged globally, though the drive emphasized voluntary peer-led accountability over enforcement.^[2] Public service announcements highlighted testimonials from people with intellectual disabilities and their families, illustrating personal impacts such as emotional hurt from overheard usage, to underscore the term's dehumanizing effect and motivate behavioral change.^[10] Youth empowerment formed a pillar of implementation, with student leaders—such as college initiators Soeren Palumbo of the University of Notre Dame—driving grassroots activities like rallies and ambassador programs to cultivate peer responsibility.^[20] In the campaign's inaugural 2009 event, over 40 university campuses and numerous high schools participated, training young advocates to host discussions and events that framed elimination of the R-word as a step toward respectful dialogue among equals.^[10] This approach positioned students as change agents, leveraging school networks for sustained pledges and event coordination to internalize the norm against the slur through direct involvement rather than top-down mandates.^[17]

Methods of Engagement and Pledge System

The core mechanism of the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign involves individuals signing a pledge committing to eliminate use of the R-word as a derogatory term. Launched in 2009, the pledge is available online through the campaign's dedicated website, where participants affirm their dedication to respectful language toward people with intellectual disabilities.^[2] By 2015, over 500,000 online pledges had been recorded, reflecting widespread participation in this voluntary commitment tracked centrally by Special Olympics.^[21] Engagement tactics emphasize accessible, youth-oriented events to foster behavioral pledges without coercive measures. Formats include school-based rallies, unity walks with pledge-signing banners, and awareness sessions featuring videos and downloadable resource kits provided by Special Olympics for free distribution.^[22] ^[23] Celebrity endorsements from athletes and public figures amplify these efforts, with promotional materials encouraging organic sharing through social media and peer networks rather than mandatory participation.^[24] Integration with educational settings prioritizes voluntary adoption in K-12 schools and youth groups, where activities like pledge drives and film screenings are incorporated into existing programs to promote self-directed change. These efforts avoid formal curricular mandates, instead relying on student-led initiatives such as poster contests and group discussions to encourage authentic buy-in and replication across communities.^[22] ^[25]

Evolution and Expansion

Transition to Inclusion Campaign (2019 Onward)

In 2019, after a decade of primarily targeting derogatory language through millions of pledges, the campaign rebranded from "Spread the Word to End the Word" to "Spread the Word: Inclusion," redirecting efforts toward cultivating inclusive practices for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in schools, workplaces, and communities.^[17] This pivot acknowledged that while language awareness had advanced, persistent exclusion stemmed from underlying attitudes that manifested in discriminatory barriers, necessitating action-oriented strategies over verbal commitments alone.^[17] Co-founders Soeren Palumbo and Tim Shriver Jr. described the change as an expansion into a global inclusion drive, with the updated branding—including a new logo depicting unified groups and forward momentum—intended to galvanize collective behavioral shifts for societal integration.^[26]^[17] The rebranding rationale centered on transcending word-specific advocacy to address root causal factors of segregation, such as overlooked opportunities for participation, by empowering local leaders to implement tangible changes.^[17] Updated pledges shifted to verifiable inclusive behaviors, including accepting individuals of all abilities, demonstrating respect through compassionate actions, and actively incorporating people with disabilities into classrooms, sports, and social groups.^[27]^[3] These commitments aimed to translate awareness into measurable participation, building empirically on prior pledge data that showed growing event participation from dozens in 2009 to thousands by 2018.^[17] Annual Spread the Word Day events were retained but thematically broadened to reinforce holistic inclusion, adapting to stakeholder input on the limitations of a singular linguistic focus.^[17] The 2023 iteration featured the "Going All-In(clusive)" theme, urging full immersion of students with disabilities in school programming, extracurriculars, and peer interactions to combat residual isolation.^[28] This evolution reflected a strategic decision point to prioritize causal interventions in social dynamics, where attitudes directly influenced access and outcomes for affected individuals.^[17]

Global Reach and Partnerships

The Spread the Word campaign, leveraging the Special Olympics' network spanning over 170 countries and territories, has extended its initiatives internationally through localized programs tailored to regional contexts. In Montenegro, for instance, Special Olympics organized school and community events in 2022 focused on promoting respect and inclusion, adapting messaging to local languages and cultural norms while maintaining the core pledge against derogatory language.^[29] Similar adaptations occur in other nations, such as China, where campaigns integrate with national education efforts to foster broader attitudinal shifts.^[30] Key partnerships with organizations like Best Buddies International have facilitated global coordination, enabling the provision of multilingual resources, pledge platforms, and synchronized annual events observed across continents.^[16] These alliances support unified campaigns, such as international pledge drives, drawing on Best Buddies' presence in over 50 countries to amplify reach among youth and educators.^[31] Government endorsements in various countries have further bolstered efforts, though primarily through non-binding alignments rather than formal policy integrations.^[32] As of 2025, post-COVID adaptations include ongoing virtual events and online pledge systems, allowing sustained participation without physical gatherings, as seen in Best Buddies' global virtual family support initiatives tied to Spread the Word activities.^[33] These developments emphasize community action plans, such as school-based inclusion strategies, extending beyond language elimination to practical engagement models in diverse international settings.^[3]

Impact and Reception

Claimed Achievements and Metrics

The Spread the Word to End the Word campaign reports having inspired over 1 million individuals to pledge against using the R-word as a slur since its 2009 launch.^[34] By 2018, campaign activities had expanded to reach thousands of schools annually across the United States, with events including rallies, assemblies, and pledge drives coordinated on or around the first Wednesday in March, designated as national awareness day.^[20] Legislative achievements tied to the campaign's advocacy include the passage of Rosa's Law on October 5, 2010, when President Barack Obama signed legislation replacing references to "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability" in all U.S. federal health, education, and labor statutes, a change proponents attribute in part to heightened public awareness efforts against derogatory language.^[14] ^[35] Media outreach has involved public service announcements (PSAs) and celebrity endorsements, such as actress Lauren Potter's participation in a 2011 PSA promoting the pledge, alongside support from athletes like NBA player Jrue Holiday for awareness day events.^[36] ^[37] By the campaign's ninth annual observance in 2017, self-reported education activities had engaged over 4,700 schools and communities.^[38] Campaign organizers claim correlations between participation and broader inclusion metrics, including growth in Unified Sports programs—where athletes with and without intellectual disabilities compete together—within adopting schools, alongside anecdotal reports from educators of decreased casual use of slurs in participating environments.^[17]

Empirical Assessment of Effectiveness

Empirical evaluations of the "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign reveal a paucity of rigorous, longitudinal studies establishing causal links between its pledge drives and tangible improvements in outcomes for individuals with intellectual disabilities, such as reduced discrimination or enhanced employment and education metrics.^[39]^[40] While the campaign has promoted self-pledges and awareness events since 2009, no peer-reviewed analyses demonstrate that these activities directly lowered rates of workplace exclusion or bullying incidents targeting those with intellectual disabilities, beyond correlational associations with broader societal norms.^[41] Data gaps persist, as most assessments rely on short-term surveys or organizational metrics rather than controlled, pre-post interventions tracking behavioral or systemic changes over time.^[42] Observable declines in R-word usage appear in select media analyses and self-reported surveys following the campaign's launch, yet these trends align more closely with overarching cultural shifts toward linguistic sensitivity in public discourse than with provable causation from campaign-specific efforts.^[43] For instance, academic studies from the early 2010s noted reduced casual invocation of the term among students exposed to anti-slur messaging, but subsequent social media audits indicate persistent or resurgent prevalence, with derogatory posts comprising up to 60% of content referencing intellectual disabilities as late as 2018.^[8]^[32] Broader employment data for working-age adults with intellectual disabilities show stagnation, with labor force participation hovering around 44% and employment-to-population ratios at approximately 23% in recent years, unchanged in ways attributable to language-focused initiatives amid stable or declining overall disability employment trends since 2000.^[44]^[45]^[46] From a causal perspective, alterations in terminology may reflect surface-level attitude signaling without necessarily driving deeper behavioral reforms, as evidenced by the absence of corresponding gains in inclusion metrics like school integration or hiring practices for those with intellectual disabilities.^[47] Anti-slur efforts risk unintended backlash, fostering resentment that renormalizes pejorative language in less regulated online environments, where usage has spiked following high-profile endorsements defying campaign norms.^[48] Such dynamics underscore that while pledges can curb overt verbal slurs in formal settings, they do not empirically substitute for structural interventions addressing underlying barriers to opportunity, leaving key outcome indicators like unemployment rates—persistently over 20% for this population—unmoved by the campaign's linguistic focus.^[49]^[50]

Criticisms and Controversies

Language Policing and Free Speech Debates

Critics contend that the campaign's push to eradicate casual, non-literal uses of the term "retard"—such as describing a flawed plan as "retarded" to signify ineptitude—overstates harm to individuals with intellectual disabilities, as such expressions target ideas rather than people and lack direct causal connection to exclusionary actions.^[51] They argue that prioritizing word choice over speaker intent fosters unnecessary restrictions on everyday discourse, potentially eroding open communication without evidence that verbal policing alters behaviors contributing to real-world marginalization.^[52] Free speech proponents, including legal scholars examining taboo language, assert that pledges like those promoted by Spread the Word encourage self-censorship, pressuring individuals to monitor speech preemptively and mirroring wider debates on compelled orthodoxy in public expression.^[52] This approach, they claim, subordinates contextual meaning to literal prohibition, risking a cultural norm where informal critique is stifled under threat of social sanction, even absent malicious targeting of vulnerable groups.^[51] A recurring critique invokes the "euphemism treadmill," where neutral descriptors for intellectual disabilities—such as "idiot," "moron," or later "retarded"—evolve into insults over time, implying that substituting terms merely delays the emergence of new pejoratives rather than resolving underlying attitudes of disdain.^[53] Historical patterns show this cycle accelerates for disability-related labels, as seen in the post-2000s resurgence of the r-word after campaigns deemed it obsolete, suggesting linguistic bans yield transient compliance but no enduring shift in derogatory intent.^[5]^[53] On empirical grounds, no peer-reviewed studies establish that curtailing slurs like the r-word causally reduces incidents of violence, employment barriers, or social isolation faced by those with intellectual disabilities; detractors highlight this evidentiary gap to argue that language-focused initiatives normalize affective overreach, potentially undermining efforts toward tangible reforms like policy-driven accessibility.^[51] Instead, attitude surveys and linguistic analyses indicate that pejorative terms retain utility as hyperbolic descriptors precisely because prohibitive measures fail to eliminate the human impulse to denigrate perceived inferiority, perpetuating a feedback loop of hypersensitivity without measurable gains in equity.^[53]

Backlash and Cultural Pushback

In March 2017, a student-led initiative at Urbandale High School in Iowa, part of the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign, installed banners urging peers to pledge against using the word "retard." Photos of the banners circulated online, prompting widespread criticism and mockery on social media platforms, with detractors labeling the effort as overly authoritarian and emblematic of enforced speech norms in schools.^[54] Public discourse on platforms like Reddit has featured extended debates challenging the campaign's push for social unacceptability of the term "retarded," with participants arguing that linguistic taboos often fail to address underlying behaviors and that insults historically derive from observable human traits rather than arbitrary offense. For instance, a 2017 Reddit thread in the r/changemyview subreddit contended that the word's pejorative use stems from its clinical origins without inherent ableism, garnering hundreds of comments debating etymology, intent, and cultural enforcement. Similar discussions in 2023 threads highlighted inconsistencies in prohibiting "retarded" while tolerating synonyms like "dumb" or "idiot," reflecting resistance to selective language policing.^[55]^[56] By the mid-2020s, usage of the r-word showed signs of resurgence in edgier segments of internet culture, particularly on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, where it appeared in memes, commentary, and celebrity-adjacent content, suggesting the campaign's long-term eradication goals faced reversal amid broader backlash against perceived over-sensitivity. A 2025 CNN analysis noted this "renormalization," attributing it to ironic online trends and fatigue with prohibitive norms, with the term surging in non-literal, derogatory contexts despite earlier pledges. Special Olympics acknowledged the trend in their own reporting, documenting increased online prevalence that undermined sustained behavioral shifts.^[6]^[57]

Questions of Distraction from Substantive Issues

Critics contend that initiatives like Spread the Word prioritize linguistic reforms over resource allocation to evidence-based strategies demonstrably improving outcomes for individuals with intellectual disabilities, such as vocational rehabilitation programs. Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials indicate that targeted vocational interventions, including job coaching and skills training, yield statistically significant gains in employment participation rates—often 20-40% higher than control groups—for adults with intellectual disabilities, autism, or psychosocial conditions.^[58] ^[59] In contrast, the campaign's focus on pledges to avoid derogatory terms has not correlated with broader metrics of inclusion, as U.S. employment rates for working-age adults with intellectual disabilities hover around 19-21%, with 28% never having held paid work, showing minimal improvement since the campaign's 2009 launch despite millions of pledges collected.^[44] ^[60] Deinstitutionalization efforts provide another example of causal interventions with verifiable benefits, including enhanced quality of life domains like community integration and autonomy, as evidenced by systematic reviews synthesizing longitudinal data from multiple countries; adults transitioning from institutions to supported community living reported higher satisfaction and adaptive behaviors compared to institutional peers.^[61] ^[62] Yet, persistent underfunding of such community-based services—coupled with stagnant policy reforms—highlights opportunity costs: time and advocacy energy spent on language campaigns may foster public complacency, offering symbolic virtue-signaling through low-accountability pledges that signal moral commitment without measurable accountability for outcomes like reduced institutionalization rates, which remain elevated in many regions.^[63] Proponents of Spread the Word argue that shifting derogatory language is a foundational step to cultivate societal respect, prerequisite to substantive policy changes.^[64] Skeptics counter that this assumes unproven causal links, urging randomized evaluations or longitudinal outcome data beyond self-reported awareness metrics to demonstrate net benefits; studies on stigma reduction suggest language policing alone yields limited, sometimes counterproductive effects, as enforced euphemisms can erode trust and distract from structural barriers like inadequate training programs.^[65] ^[66] This tension reflects broader debates on resource prioritization, where empirical prioritization favors interventions with direct, quantifiable impacts on employment and independence over attitudinal shifts lacking robust evidence of downstream efficacy.

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Spread the Word was created to end the R-Word which is the most common phrase used to demean, insult, and discriminate against people with disabilities.
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The campaign was combined with a simple call-to-action to spread the word-to-end the word. As of September 2020, more than 820,000 people around the world ...
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Starting today, the Spread the Word campaign will call on everyone to make their pledge to take action for inclusion in their school, community, or workplace.
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Effect of deinstitutionalisation on quality of life for adults with ...
Apr 25, 2019 · To review systematically the evidence on how deinstitutionalisation affects quality of life (QoL) for adults with intellectual disabilities.
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Behavioral Outcomes of Deinstitutionalization for People with ...
Deinstitutionalization as a policy and a practice has produced dramatic changes in the sizes and types of places where individuals with intellectual ...
[63]
Effect of deinstitutionalisation for adults with intellectual disabilities ...
Sep 20, 2019 · A wide-ranging literature review found limited evidence on costs associated with deinstitutionalisation for people with intellectual disabilities.Missing: deinstitutionalization | Show results with:deinstitutionalization
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Unified Talks: The History of Spread the Word - Special Olympics
Founded in 2009, Spread the Word focused on ending the use of 'retard(ed)' for 10 years, collecting pledges and growing to thousands of schools by 2018.
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Stigma and the Problem with Language Policing
Oct 12, 2020 · Language policing may feel satisfying, but it isn't very effective at reducing mental illness stigma, and it can even make things worse.
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The Problem with Language Policing | by Ashley L. Peterson - Medium
Oct 12, 2020 · Language policing also runs the risk of people writing it off as political correctness. Steven Pinker described a euphemism treadmill where new ...