Comment from Pitzele, Brad, N/A

As a father of a 2 year old daughter with Down syndrome, I truly commend the SSA on attempting to be more progressive and sensitive to these populations of people. I am friends with a 50 yr old man with cognitive disabilities. He is one of the most charismatic guys I know. He is also happy to recant his qualification for SS "because [he]...is retarded". He says it coyly as a semi-joke, but I think how demeaning this word has become. The word retardation has morphed into a word used to dehumanize, ostracize, and deny rights to this group of people. It is a shameful scar on who we are. While I applaud your efforts, this change is worthless if you will continue to use the word, and this half-hearted effort may end up extending the use of hurtful and unnecessary language. Please do us a true favor and remove the word completely from the SSA legal lexicon! Sincerely, Brad Pitzele