Disability Should Not Be Used As An Insult

The Ruderman Family Foundation responded to the derogatory use of Asperger Syndrome by an unnamed Obama Administration official in an article released yesterday.

“In his article in The Atlantic, ‘The Crisis in U.S.-Israel Relations is Officially Here,’ Jeffrey Goldberg quotes an unnamed source in the Obama administration who refers to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as “Aspergery.” While it is perfectly acceptable for people to be critical of each other, it is unacceptable to use a term of disability in a derogatory manner,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “The term “Aspergery” was used in a manner that is insulting to the millions of people around the world with Asperger Syndrome. It is never OK to insult someone by referring to them by using disability in a negative manner.”

The Foundation calls on the administration to release a statement denouncing the use of the name of a disability in a derogatory manner (in this case “Aspergery”).