Best Practices in Descriptive Medical Nomenclature: The Campaign to End the “R” Word

1. Best Practices in Descriptive Medical Nomenclature: The Campaign to End the “R” Word Rick Rader, MD Seth Keller, MD Board of Directors Board of Directors American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry Committee’s on Public Policy, External Affairs, Education, and Student Chapters

2. The Practice of Medicine: • Eloquent, descriptive, often cryptic nosology • Dynamic, Progressive, Evolving • Changes over time • Transacts within the context of mainstream society

3. Doctor of Physic circa 1540 Medicine’s terminologyand nomenclature evolves along with its beliefs, practices and procedures. Even the name “medicine” is a progressive adaptation from the original word “physic”.

4. Discarded Archaic Medical Terms La Grippe: influenza Screws:  arthritis Ague: malaria Bursten:  hernia Coryza:  a cold Mormal:  gangrene

5. The term “Monsters” has been replaced with “teratogenic defects”

6. Twenty years ago pediatricians would readily describe this child as a FLK (funny looking kid).

7. Language May Help Create, Not Just Convey, Thoughts and Feelings The disciplines of neurolinguistics and psycholinguistics suggest that language shapes our attitudes OludaminiOgunnaike, Yarrow Dunham, Mahzarin R. Banaji. The language of implicit preferences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2010; 46 (6) 999

8. When called upon to describe individuals with suboptimal intelligence physicians responded with a litany of descriptive terms…

9. Moron • A clinical descriptive term relating to an individuals cognitive status. • Reassigned by society to become a negative, stigmatizing pejorative term

10. Idiot • A clinical descriptive term relating to an individuals cognitive status. • Reassigned by society to become a negative, stigmatizing pejorative term

11. Feeble Minded • A clinical descriptive term relating to an individuals cognitive status. • Reassigned by society to become a negative, stigmatizing pejorative term

12. Imbeciles • A clinical descriptive term relating to an individuals cognitive status. • Reassigned by society to become a negative, stigmatizing pejorative term

13. Retard • A clinical descriptive term relating to an individuals cognitive status. • Reassigned by society to become a negative, stigmatizing pejorative term

14. Rosa’s Law President Obama signs bill S.2781 (October 2010) Removing the terms “Mental Retardation” and “Mental Retarded” from federal health, education and labor policy. “Individual with an intellectual disability” and “intellectual disability” become preferred terms

15. Resolution 805-10 Eliminates “mental retardation” from their documents; replaces “intellectual disability” as preferred term. 2011

16. “Mental Retardation” dropped May, 2013 “Mental Retardation” eliminated in favor of “Intellectual Disabilities”

17. “Mental Retardation” dropped American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry declares “Mental Retardation” no longer represents a valid medical diagnosis; “Intellectual Disability” proposed as the preferred term.

18. Special Olympics Initiative Pledge your support to eliminate the demeaning use of the r-word

19. Best Practice Recommendations • Eliminate “retarded” and “mental • Conversations • Presentations • Case Notes • Referral Letters • retardation” in: • Death Certificates • Research Articles • Public Health Reports • Teaching Rounds and Lectures

20. “I’m not my name. My name is something I wear, like a shirt. It gets worn. I outgrow it, I change it.” -Jerry Spinelli