sped = special ed

Mark Mandel thnidu at GMAIL.COM
Wed Jun 30 18:10:24 UTC 2010


"SPED" (pronounced as one syllable) for "Special Ed(ucation)", including
"SPED parents", was everyday for us in at least the early nineties, maybe by
the late eighties, in Framingham, Massachusetts. Bcc-ing to my wife, who may
remember more detail or chronology.

m a m

On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 10:06 AM, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

> This is a colloquial shortening and blending that I've heard used by
> other parents, but now just spotted in the local paper:
>
> "Look how much we've done for this kid. He's a great kid. We want the
> best for him. No matter what we do it's like BAM! BAM! Obstacle,
> obstacle, obstacle. So I jump over that one, jump over that one, jump
> over that one. It's like that for any sped parent." -- Dorothy Odgren
> quoted re: her son John Odgren, in "'It seemed there was nothing we
> could do,'" Lee Hammel, _Sunday Telegram (Worcester, MA)_, 27 June 2010.
>
> What's interesting is its application to someone indirectly involved
> with special education services -- the student and service providers are
> directly involved, one receiving and one giving. "Sped parent" is
> standing for "parent of a special education student."
>
> --
> ---Amy West
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list