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The Spread the Word to End the Word movement was established in 2009 during the Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit at the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games by Soeren Palumbo and Tim Shriver Jr. Palumbo was a student at the University of Notre Dame when he began working on the campaign. Palumbo was contacted by the Special Olympics, an organization that creates accessible and competitive environments for individuals with intellectual disabilities to engage in over 30, olympic-style sporting events, following a viral response to a speech he delivered in 2007. Addressing his high school peers, Palumbo explained the offensive nature of the word "retard" and called for others to see the severity regarding the use of the term. The Special Olympics invited Palumbo to serve as a global youth leader to continue his advocacy efforts for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The organization also asked Palumbo to intern at their Washington D.C. office, where he met fellow college student, Tim Shriver Jr., grandson of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics.

From there, the two combined their passions for inclusion and began focusing on how to increase awareness on the importance of issues related to individuals with intellectual disabilities on college campuses. In their own words, Palumbo and Shriver "...wanted a day of awareness centered on the R-word, with different events on different college campuses all at the same time". Palumbo and Shriver presented their idea to the leadership of the Special Olympics organization and received approval to move forward with what is now known as the "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign in 2009. According to the Special Olympics: “The motivation for the campaign was driven by a united passion to promote the positive contributions people with intellectual disabilities make to communities around the world combined with a simple call to action that also symbolizes positive attitude change and a commitment to make the world a more accepting place for all people.”

Since launching “Spread the Word to End the Word”, the campaign has spread across the United States and has sparked change at the national level. In 2010, the campaign joined forces with other advocacy efforts to remove the word “retard” from federal legislation. In honor of Rosa Marcellino, a Maryland native with Down’s syndrome whose family spearheaded the local movement, Rosa’s Law was unanimously passed by federal legislatures. Palumbo was present when President Obama signed the motion into law. The Spread the Word to End the Word campaign has also reached many countries outside of the United States, including Canada, India, and South Africa.

As of 2018, there have been over 700,000 online pledges made on the campaign’s website to stop the use of the R-word. Numerous K-12 schools have partnered with the campaign and universities across the country have created clubs and organizations to raise awareness on the importance of inclusion and respect.

While the campaign is promoted throughout the year, a national advocacy effort is celebrated every March.