The piece What I Hear When You Say It tells the story of the author when people call her brother 'retarded.' She does not believe that her brother is retarded just because he has down syndrome and he has special needs. She does not like when people call her brother retarded because it is a misleading and deragatory term. Just because her brother has special needs and has down syndrome does not make him retarded, as the author expresses in the piece.

This piece has taught me to be more careful about what I say around certain people. Before I talk, I should consider people's life story and predicament because something such as the word retarded could offend someone.