Local TV Coverage, End the Word Campaign

Sophie and I did an interview tonight with WCIA Channel 3 on our local efforts to Spread the Word to End the Word on 3.31.09. Mark is slated to do an interview with the Daily Illini newspaper and our friend Amy is doing another TV interview the morning of our event. I'll post all articles and links as they become available and as more interviews are scheduled.

We have been so blessed by many in our community who have embraced this call to end the r-word. So many have stepped up to help and the movement has spread near and far. Thank you dear friends. We ARE making an impact.

Most of the interview didn't survive the cutting room floor to make it into the 42 second spot. I talked about the history of the r-word, how the Spread the Word movement came to be, the DSN and Epsilon Delta event at the Illini Union, and Junior League's work to get tables in each of the junior and high schools on 3.31.09. I spoke of the struggles to be included and accepted in society when you have a developmental disability and the pain that this word can inflict on people with disabilities and those of us who love them. Thankfully, they list many of the details here on their website.

You'll see in the clip that the anchor says "Her mom says people can be ignorant and describe her little girl with words that hurt." What I remember talking about was that people who use the r-word as slang are often ignorant of the history of the word and the impact it can have and that we hope to educate others on the power of words. My comment about Sophie struggling was a about how she already struggles with reaching her milestones while living in a society where she has to fight for acceptance and inclusion and that we hope to educate others on valuing all people regardless of ability.

Interviews can be a blur and the final product after editing is always fun to see. Our reporter Jenny Gastwirth was really nice and a joy to work with. They did a good job and I'm grateful that we got coverage already, as the event isn't until next week.

Click here for the story. Try adjusting the bandwidth if you can't get the video to play.