JustSaySomething.org is changing the way people with disability are regarded. The online 
forum features comments from users about the way people with developmental disabilities (lifelong physical and/or mental disabilities) are treated, good or bad.
By posting comments on the website, people are encouraged to directly praise or criticize businesses, media outlets, lawmakers or anyone else who they feel may deserve it.
People have already used the site to comment on a number of issues they like and dislike. So far, the forum has been used to:
• Thank people for their friendly treatment of a son with an intellectual disability
• Describe how users can participate in lobbying against a site with "retarded" in its name
• Express appreciation to a municipality for planning curb cuts to improve sidewalk accessibility
• Tell how a writer complimented a business for displaying a mannequin in a wheelchair
The website, as well as an accompanying Facebook page and Twitter account, are part of a statewide public awareness campaign launched by the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) to improve public perception of those with developmental disabilities and increase awareness of the discrimination and denigration that are too often part of their daily lives.
"This online forum is a step toward ending that injustice, by encouraging New Jerseyans to speak up," said Dr. Alison Lozano, executive director of the Council. "I encourage everyone to post their ideas, comments and thoughts. New Jersey needs to hear your voice."
Readers have already pointed out examples of the use of stereotypes or offensive language to describe people with developmental disabilities, workplace discrimination and lack of access to public buildings or events. Positive postings include friendly or helpful behavior, inclusion of people with disabilities in advertisements or stories about businesses who have hired someone with a developmental disability.
"This campaign encourages and supports positive dialogue," Lozano said. "Good advocacy is not only about changing those things that are not working; it is about noticing and supporting those things that are. Community leaders, business leaders and lawmakers need to know that we are here, we are paying attention, and we have a lot to say."
The goal of the campaign is to draw awareness to how people with developmental disabilities are an integral part of society and are keenly aware of how people act towards them and speak about them. By speaking up, both directly and on JustSaySomething.org, people can help correct mistreatment by others and encourage inclusion, access and acceptance of people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of community life.
