CHEYENNE - As a boy, Richard Leslie was an easy target for schoolhouse bullies.

He suffered from convulsions and seemed to be always taking notes to cope with a memory disorder.

'I would get called 'retard' by kids who were in football or the higher-class kids,' said Leslie, who became withdrawn as a result of the insults.

The convulsions were eventually diagnosed as a symptom of epilepsy, and he learned other tricks to overcome his memory problems. But he still carries emotional scars from being labeled a 'retard.'

This week, Leslie will be one of several disabled people lobbying the Legislature to eliminate the words mental retardation from state statutes and other official documents.

By updating the terminology, Leslie and others hope to eventually change the way the public thinks of and talks about people who have developmental disabilities.

The effort is part of a nationwide push for a more dignified and compassionate nomenclature called "People First" language.

'These people have historically been devalued, and this is part of their movement to make sure they are valued,' said Rep. Floyd Esquibel, D-Cheyenne, the sponsor of one of two bills to address the issue.

House Joint Resolution 4 by Esquibel would direct all state agencies to replace the phrase 'mentally retarded' with 'intellectually disabled' or some other more compassionate phrase.

A second bill, Senate File 38 by Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, would change 'mentally retarded' to 'intellectually disabled' in existing and future statutes.

In Wyoming, about 9,200 people are developmentally disabled, according to Brenda Oswald, executive director of the Governor's Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Only about 95 of the 9,200 live in institutions. Many more have jobs or contribute in other ways, Oswald said.

A group of them calling itself People First of Wyoming is spearheading the effort to change the terms in state law.

'They came to me and said, 'Will you get rid of the MR word?'" Case said.

'I must admit that I first thought that this is just the language in the law,' Case added. 'But then I got to thinking about my playground 45 years ago and the pejorative terms used there.'

Skeptics may argue that the changes are simply a tip of the hat to political correctness, but supporters of HJR 4 and SF 38 insist it's more important than that.

Consider that the accepted terms to describe people with developmental disabilities once included 'idiot' and 'imbecile.'

Those words fell out of favor for obvious reasons, and 'mental retardation' - a more scientific-sounding term - took their place.

These days, the term mentally retarded, or MR for short, is considered just as pejorative to many people with developmental disabilities as its predecessors.

'People with disabilities don't like to be put down,' said James Moore of Cheyenne, who is lobbying for the legislation despite a severe speaking disability.

What's different about this latest push to update the terminology is that people with disabilities are leading the charge, said Doreen Crowser, executive director of the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Crowser's own group, a professional association that supports people with developmental disabilities, last year changed its name from the American Association of Mental Retardation.

'It's people with disabilities that have really taken a leadership on this,' Crowser said. 'They really dislike the mental retardation terminology.'

If People First of Wyoming succeeds in the Wyoming Legislature, Richard Leslie said he hopes to take the group's message to an even larger audience.

'We can kind of take the People First language bill to our congressmen and show what we've done here, and maybe they'll do something nationwide,' said Leslie, who today is executive director of the Wyoming Epilepsy Association.

Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at M3jared.miller@trib.com.

Not sure how to refer to a disability or someone who has one? Here are some pointers about People First Language from the Wyoming Governor's Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities:

* As a rule of thumb: People come first, then the disability. So instead of saying 'the disabled,' 'the blind' or 'the epileptics,' say a person who is disabled, a person who is blind or a person who is epileptic.

* Instead of calling someone 'handicapped,' consider referring to them as a 'person with a disability.'

* Mental retardation is not longer an acceptable term. Instead, use 'intellectually disabled' or 'developmentally disabled.'

* Mute is another term that has fallen out of favor. Instead, use 'person with a speech disorder.'

* The term wheelchair-bound has also become antiquated. The preferred term is 'mobility impaired,' or simply say: a person who uses a wheelchair.

* Cripple and quadriplegic are also old terms. Refer to a person instead as one who uses an assistive device or a person who has quadriplegia.

- Jared Miller