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"Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
Frank Outlaw

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You "RETARD"!

Are you "RETARDED"?


Now that I have your interest, I will like to address these "RETARDED" words!

I will like to start with an: "it ANGERS & HURTS me and VERY much" when I hear people say the word "RETARDED" in an angry, or diminishing way.

Sad to say I have heard it from adults, children, young, old, strangers, friends, and even from both sides of our families, that is my side of the family, and my husband's side. A LOT of people say it! But we can TRY and change ourselves for the better. Right? :-)


We are ALL human, therefore not perfect, and we ALL make mistakes, and we ALL say all kinds of things, at the wrong place, or time...

The words "RETARD, or RETARDED" do hurt us the very special population and VERY MUCH, even if YOU are NOT ware that WE have heard them...


�Well has it been said that there is no grief like the grief which does not speak.�
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


PLEASE let us all try and think what words we use to describe people. (Describe or hurt?)

The sad part about it, is that recently it is getting more common.
I have heard those "retarded" words more and more, and also coming from ADULTS (not thinking), when THEIR child does something they are not supposed to, and the parent will reprimand with an angry in this case PUT DOWN:
"WHAT ARE YOU A RETARD?"
It hurts even more when our loved ones that have some form of mental or physical challenge are present! OUCH! :'(


Now remember, the parent, the adult, is the one the child is learning that "retard" PUT DOWN from.
Your children, or the ones around you, are picking all these little (little?), things from YOU!
Even by the adult staying silent and condoning those kinds of words, he is giving an example!

One of our two sons, Dennis, our youngest, HAS been DIAGNOSED with RETARDATION!
He has a new mutation of a syndrome (a collection of symptoms), including Autism, Cerebral Palsy, low muscle tone, microcephaly, renal problems, scoliosis, vision problems (his world is flat!), he has compulsive, obsessive disorders, as well and has developmental "abilities" :-) He is also very bright in some things! Above average with numbers & memory.
Well, our son also has "RETARDATION"!!!! (That was just to name a FEW of his on going symptoms!)


So WE DO KNOW what it IS like to be "RETARDED", we KNOW what having RETARDATION IS!

For us, RETARDATION does not come up in the way of PUT DOWNS.
For us it is a REALITY!
For us RETARDATION is also a DIAGNOSIS!

For our immediate family (the 4 of us), it IS a BEAUTIFUL, ENRICHING, LEARNING experience living with a person that HAS been diagnosed with mental "retardation" AND developmental challenges!

We are so fortunate, because we LIVE AND DAILY LEARN from this person that WAS DIAGNOSED with words that a lot of us use to diminish people!

There are so MANY kinds of LOVE, and we happen to be very fortunate, to learn about this: "RETARDED" LOVE!
So sincere,
so innocent,
so frail,
so angelic,
so trusting,
so compassionate,
so UNCONDITIONAL,
so, so, and so MANY, BEAUTIFUL qualities...

Having a child, sibling, loved one with RETARDATION, (or mentally or physically challenged), makes us even MORE fortunate (and I will always say this:-), because we ALSO GET TO SEE:
that LOVE,
that patience,
that compassion,
that altruism,
that understanding
that always comes from EVERY HUMAN BEING WHEN THEY ARE AROUND A "RETARDED" PERSON. (Or a "RETARD" as I have heard many say.)

Yes! we get to see ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL QUALITITES!
We get to see the VERY BEST of YOU, when YOU are around that "RETARDED" (and to us very beautiful) human being!

The irony of it all is, that when you are not angry slashing your child (OR FRIENDS), with put downs, it is through "RETARDS" (AND I REPEAT!!!), that we actually get to see the very best that YOU have to offer!

Somehow we ALL always end up LEARNING from "them".
This very special population...
"They" SHOW us, how to really, UNCONDITIONALLY and SINCERELY LOVE...

I assure you, YOU WOULD NOT call "OUR diagnosed" child a RETARD!
(At least not to his face, or, around us.)

Why would you call YOUR child,
or YOUR friends RETARDED?
(As a put down, joking, or in a moment of anger?)


Remember, that is NOT how you are,
that is NOT how WE see YOU,
for through our "RETARDED" son, or LOVED ONES, we have been fortunate to RECEIVE, to SEE, to experience, the very BEST of you and YOUR LOVE....


Thank you for the compassion, your understanding, and LOVE that YOU GIVE and SHOW our mentally or physically challenged ones...
PLEASE SHOW THAT SAME COMPASSION FOR YOUR LOVED ONE! (That is not "retarded")


Thank you ALL, PAL, parents, volunteers, caregivers, for your cooperation, support, suggestions, dedication, and LOVE...

Luz Marina Sementilli, Commissioner, P.A.L. (Special Populations) Dynamites Director (954) 270-4455 after 2 PM.
dynamitescommissioner@palsports.org
imagineluz3d@gmail.com
www.LeagueLineup.com/plantationdynamites
"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances
but rather a person with certain set of attitudes" -Unknown

OOOPS...
Did I mention "AGAIN", how privileged I am to be touched by ALL your love? :-) Thanks "AGAIN"!!!!!!

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"There's room in the garden..."
A tulip doesn't strive to impress anyone.
It doesn't struggle to be different than a rose.
It doesn't have to.
It is different.
And there's room in the garden for every flower."
Marianne Williamson

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. MENTAL RETARDATION

Mental retardation refers to below-average intelligence. The diagnosis of mental retardation is based on intelligence quotient (IQ) tests and a child's learning problems. Mental retardation is categorized according to IQ scores:

In mild retardation, IQs range from 50 or 55 to 70.
In moderate retardation, IQs range from 35 or 40 to 50 or 55.
In severe retardation, IQs range from 20 or 25 to 35 or 40.
In profound retardation, IQs are below 20 or 25.
Most people with mental retardation have mild retardation. Very few have severe or profound mental retardation.

Children with mental retardation may have difficulty with:

Learning, especially complex tasks.
Language. Children with severe mental retardation have more difficulty learning language than children with mild to moderate mental retardation.
Self-care (in cases of severe mental retardation).

Mental retardation

The most frequent serious developmental disability is MENTAL RETARDATION, which is about three times as common as autism. Although not all the causes of mental retardation are known, several have been identified, including fetal alcohol syndrome and a variety of genetic conditions.

Autism's cause unknown, but research points to genetics
Sunday, May 1, 2005
Autism is more common than most serious developmental disabilities, but its cause probably is the least understood.
Autism's origins are largely a mystery.

Scientists know that an extra chromosome causes DOWN SYNDROME, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate affects about half as many children as autism spectrum disorders. CEREBRAL PALSY, also less common than autism, can be caused by head injuries, jaundice, infections or lack of oxygen.


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"To those who see with loving eyes, life is beautiful.
To those who speak with tender voices, life is peaceful.
To those who help with gentle hands, life is full.
And to those who care with compassionate hearts,
life is good beyond all measure."
Author Unknown



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Einstein's Universe 2

�A human being is part
of a whole,

called by us the Universe,

a part limited in time and space.

He experiences himself,

his thoughts and feelings,

as something

separated from the rest

-a kind of optical delusion

of his consciousness.

This delusion is

a kind of prison for us,

restricting us

to our personal desires

and to affection

for a few persons near us.

Our task must be
to free ourselves

from this prison

by widening our circles

of COMPASSION

TO EMBRACE

ALL LIVING CREATURES

AND THE WHOLE OF NATURE

IN ITS BEAUTY.�
Albert Einstein

Thank you FGS





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�Forgive me.� These two simple words are the most powerful weapon we have in another kind of war, the fight to overcome all these divisions among us. Only one changed heart, one act of forgiveness, can bring an avalanche of repentance. In this way we, too, can serve your country. Yes, we personally can help end wars and bring peace, but only by taking up this fight in the battleground of the HUMAN HEART.
Dan Hallock


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"That children have to suffer is very strange. Children are closer than anyone else to the heart of Jesus, and he points to them as an example for us. That is why I believe that the suffering of an innocent child always has great significance."
J. Heinrich Arnold



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Contact: HijaCali@aol.com


www.leaguelineup.com/plantationdynamites