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This Is My Child - the new MNHQ campaign. Everyone come look please!

304 replies

RowanMumsnet · 16/08/2013 15:16

Hello,

As lots of you will already know, we've spent the last few months working on a new campaign called 'This Is My Child' - and it's launching on Monday. (We're letting you know about it now because there's a rather nice piece about in in the Guardian this weekend.)

You can read about the background to the campaign here, but in essence it's about myth-busting and awareness-raising - so we'd really love you all to share it as widely as possible. We've consulted with Mumsnetters and the material is supported by input from some of the leading charities in the field: Mencap, Contact A Family and Every Disabled Child Matters.

Over the years on Mumsnet, parents of children with SN have described how their lives are made more difficult by the occasional (or not-so-occasional) judginess of members of the public. They've described how this can contribute to their isolation, placing limits on their social opportunities because they can't face the stress and disapproval that comes with public interactions.

That's why we came up with This Is My Child. Its aim is to support parents of children with additional needs, inform everyone else, and open up a conversation about how we can all act together to make day-to-day life a bit easier for these families.

The input of parents caring for children with special needs has always provided a fascinating perspective for other MNers, encouraging empathy and giving real insight into what life can be like. We're hoping that our myth-busters, tips for non-experts and strategies for parents and carers, along with our background facts and figures, will help to bring the wisdom and perspective of Mumsnet SN posters to a wider audience.

So if you like what you read and think someone you know would find it interesting or useful, please share it as widely as you can (you'll find our impressively large sharing buttons on each page Wink).

And for the Tweeps among you, we'll be holding a Twitter party on the #ThisIsMyChild hashtag on Tuesday between 1pm and 2pm; please join in if you can.

As ever, we'd love to know your thoughts and hear your feedback, so please use this thread to post up anything that occurs to you.

Thanks
MNHQ

OP posts:
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mignonette · 16/08/2013 15:23

Have looked at the photo's of the children. They are all beautiful. My niece was born a couple of months ago in Germany with as yet unknown consequences of the severe oxygen starvation she endured during her birth due to clinical negligence. She is now at home and doing very well but we know that she is partially deaf, will have problems with walking and muscle tone but the rest is unknown. She is an open book but we have hope because she survived.

She is beautiful. Strong, resilient and so full of life and personality.

She is my niece and I love her.

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AtYourCervix · 16/08/2013 15:31

Thanks

That Guardian piece is good.

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RippingYarns · 16/08/2013 15:40

thank you

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BeerTricksPotter · 16/08/2013 15:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

YoniMatopoeia · 16/08/2013 15:49

Good stuff.

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neriberi · 16/08/2013 15:53

I've just read the Guardian piece, amazing.

My sister was disabled, she passed away in 2009. I remember going on holiday one year and someone laughing at her when she had a melt down in departures, she was totally oblivious to the looks she was getting but the rest of us weren't. Usually we just let the looks bounce but this one guy thought it was hilarious and sniggered to his mate then pointed in our direction...

I know this was a petty thing to do but I marched over there and asked him in a really loud voice so that people looked why he was laughing at a disabled person? He looked dumb struck then said sorry, he didn't realise.

This is such a fab campaign Mumsnet Thanks

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ProtegeMoi · 16/08/2013 16:10

Great campaign!

The awful comment on the guardian piece shows why we need something like this.

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GobbySadcase · 16/08/2013 16:20

Great.

Now I hope the sentiment is enforced on here.

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mignonette · 16/08/2013 16:24

NeriBeri Your sister would have been proud of you I'm sure. Good for you.

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insanityscratching · 16/08/2013 16:32

So glad to see this is "live" and have shared. The experiences of the mums in the Guardian article are just my experiences when out and about with ds and dd who have autism.
Ds is 18 now and only once in all those years has a stranger ever offered to help but the times he has been stared at, called a shit, told he needed a good hiding or I have been berated or criticised for my supposed dreadful parenting are too numerous to count. I was even abused in a disabled parking bay by a pensioner who had the adjacent disabled space who decided in his wisdom ds wasn't worthy of the blue badge Angry
Raising awareness of what life is really like for parents of children with disabilities can't come soon enough IMO.
Flowers Mumsnet

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TheMagicKeyCanFuckOff · 16/08/2013 16:50

Great campaign.

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HelenaLindor · 16/08/2013 16:58

That article made me gasp in horror 'at least its not cancer'. Who would say such a thing?

I am glad that you are running this campaign, MNHQ and hope that it makes some people think before they open their mouths, or roll their eyes.

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cocolepew · 16/08/2013 17:20

Great Guardian piece.

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Sparklingbrook · 16/08/2013 17:30

Great article and those pictures are brilliant.

My friend has a son with autism and I know how hard she finds it when people who know make assumptions, and people that don't know make assumptions. Plus the worry about what his future holds.

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BrainSurgeon · 16/08/2013 18:11

Great piece. Have shared. Thanks

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Summerhasloaded · 16/08/2013 18:14

Thank you, am sharing away Smile

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kinkyfuckery · 16/08/2013 18:15

Fantastic article, shame about some of the comment though Sad

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birdbrain21 · 16/08/2013 18:19

As a 1:1 special needs teacher in a mainstream primary school I have many times found myself trying to explain to colleagues how special the children I teach are and how much they should try to include them. Some teachers work really hard to have jobs in the classroom these children can do, or special projects they will be able to take part in and it's amazing to see how much children with sn want to be like their friends. It's a very rewarding job and I love all my charges nearly as much as my own baby!
I'm so happy to see this campaign started and I really hope it helps inform the world how amazing and special these precious children and their famlilies are. If only people could really meet children with sn and see how their fantastic families cope I think the world would be a much more understanding place. There are so many ingorant people out there and I hope this changes things.
Thank you mumsnet.

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PeggyCarter · 16/08/2013 18:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Doobydoo · 16/08/2013 18:41

hOW DO i SHARE IT ON MY FACE BOOK PAGE?

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Doobydoo · 16/08/2013 18:43

Done it!

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GobbySadcase · 16/08/2013 18:56

Sadly the comments don't surprise me. Some of the comments following Polly Toynbee's article on my family were vile.

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Rumours · 16/08/2013 19:01

Thank you MNHQ Thanks

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MuseumOfHam · 16/08/2013 19:09

A huge cheer for this campaign! Hip hip hooray!

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Gunznroses · 16/08/2013 19:12

This is so good Smile we have to begin educating people somewhere, where better than here ? Smile

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