Crissy Siefke had an important message for students at Bigfork Elementary and Middle School, and Swan River school on Wednesday.

Siefke, a 1999 Bigfork High School graduate, spoke to both schools to help “Spread the Word to End the Word.”

The word being “retard.”

Siefke has Down Syndrome, and is also a long-time athlete with Special Olympics, which supports the Spread the Word to End the Word initiative.

Both organizations aim to create acceptance and break down walls between people with mental disabilities, and those without.

“I am a person with feelings inside just like you,” Siefke told students. “There is no difference between you and me. When people use the R-word and stare at me I want to tell them I am no different.”

Students from both schools organized assemblies to promote Spread the Word to End the Word.

At Bigfork, Schuyler Baird’s seventh and eighth grade leadership classes took the reins for the assembly, which also honored the Bigfork Blaze special Olympics team and students who competed in the History Day Fair.

Before planning the assembly, the students also spent time working with their peers with intellectual disabilities, and traveled to Whitefish to cheer them on in their snowshoe races.

“I think we learned a lot about them,” eighth-grader Randy Stultz said. “It was actually kind of fun talking to the special Olympians.” 

“They don't like it when we say the R-word,” eighth grader Declan Sparrow said. “We realize it’s still bad if you use it just once.”

 “Everyone is so much more than one word,” Taylor Floyd said.

Siefke asked the students to be agents of change, to start by taking the word out of their vocabulary, and standing up to others when they hear it used. At Swan River school students started out the assembly saying what Special Olympics meant to them. “Special Olympics means to be a good friend,” one girl said. 

“Special Olympics taught me kids with disabilities are not different,” another said.

Siefke gave her speech and took questions from the students. One boy asked her if people were mean to her as a kid, while another asked if people still called her the r-word.

“Yes,” she said. “But the people who were mean to me did not know me very well.” 

“People with and without disabilities should be treated with kindness,” she said.