To think this is a really awful thing to say? Tw

It's the 'need' that is described as 'special' not the child. The child is just a child.

Yawn.

I object to people who needlessly object. It's tiresome at best, arrogant at worst.

Your child is normal. Just a normal, run of the mill human child. To you - special, extraordinary, even a little miracle (and that is to be expected - you are their Mum), but nobody else cares.

I'm an advisory SEND teacher working for our local authority. I was pretty shocked at a couple of posters in this thread til I realised they were just being controversial for the sake of it.

Don't rise to it, people. We know our SEND kids and what they need. Thank God some of them get something of what they need. We all know plenty of kids who don't get what they need.

And the term for non SEND is typical. Not normal. Typical. No doubt it will change in a few years but we have a good word for now.

I’d rather my child didn’t have to go to a school 45 miles away (a 90 mile round trip to school for a 6 year old is not ideal), but that is the only suitable school that was able to meet his needs. But yay! He gets a free taxi!

I have one child with SEN and 2 without. I feel no offence on behalf of my children without SEN that my disabled child’s needs are described as ‘special’, and I doubt they are offended either. Because they’re not dicks.

🤣

Not a fucking clue!

No additional expenses!

No, DLA does not cover the extra expenses for autistic kids.

Pretty sure she was making a point rather than expressing an actual view…..

Taxis?
It's usually a mini bus BTW
Where exactly would you want disabled children to be taught.?

Your username seems appropriate!

Look at some of the attitudes towards disabled people on this thread OP…

I really don’t worry about people saying normal. There’s so much else to worry about.

Do people really feel like this?

Do you endorse more special schools (at taxpayer expense) which would reduce taxi cost and some issues in mainstream school but is an act of segregation and costs a lot to implement.

It's special treatment sucking the lifeblood from mainstream education.

Did I mention the non means tested free taxis everywhere?

My children are autistic, ADHD, severe learning disabilities. There absolutely are additional expenses with these disabilities (depending on needs). As a previous poster mentioned, one of my children is very destructive, we have accepted a few things remaining broken around the house, but need curtains, some form of entertainment in the house, chairs and sofas! We buy very, very expensive specialist furniture which is extra tough or adapted for safety. Our children need walking harnesses, extortionate car harnesses. One child is in nappies, the continence service tends to offer 3 a day, maximum, so we have to buy large nappies. Our laundry costs are immense - ever heard of smearing? We can't just go to the park as the children abscond and are now so big they can outrun me, I wouldn't be able to restrain one of them safely on my own (plus that's a pretty shit park trip!) So nearly every trip out is to a specialist centre (which costs some money or is a long drive - fuel cost - away). I had to give up work because regular childcare for these children doesn't exist and one of my children didn't even have a school place for several years as no school could meet needs. There are lots of appointments for some of these children, which means many families struggle to have both parents in work. Children like this often require lots of sensory activities and equipment to remain calm. Etc, etc.

Yeah, I really don't care if it appears a genuine mistake.

I don't like it said around my kids though.

I've got two SEN and one without and I've probably said normal for an easy life and wouldn't ever dream of being offended by anyone saying that. Normal doesn't mean better in this context, it means not SEN.

Wow @TempNameForObviousReasons !

The reasons are obvious! Are you from the Daily Mail or are you simply not very nice?

Some pp have clearly never heard the saying "equity over equality". Not a very nice thread to read through 🫤

But OP my best friends oldest DC is disabled, she will never walk, talk and will wear nappies all her life. My friend refers to her other kids as "normal" with the air quotes whenever she is trying to explain something relevant. Sometimes in the moment there isn't another word, I wouldn't get too worked up about it.

are you actually annoyed about disabled children getting additional help?

The special refers to the Needs, not the child.

Your child’s Needs are standard/off the peg. Other children have needs that require a special or tailored solution.

But you knew that anyway.

Why? I'm over 50, with no contact with anyone who is ND and yet I use the terms NT and ND

That is not special treatment. Those are reasonable adjustments so that they can access education.

Why? some of us 50+ year olds are ND.

Unless a doctor, nurse, teacher or parent on mn, I wouldn’t expect most people 50+ to use NT and ND.

I think if this is someone's bar for 'really awful', they're in for a rough ride through life. It may not be the most delicate or widely approved word choice, but it's true. Children without special needs by definition are the norm, therefore it's not surprising that someone would say they are 'normal' without intending any slight toward children who don't fall within the norm.

As it becomes increasingly difficult to navigate the minefield of what's currently considered acceptable language, more and more people will either be silenced or stop attempting to use 'correct' language. Why even bother when you can do your honest best and still be judged as really awful?

Normal, means what is typical or relating to the majority. We don't need to beat around the bush with different kind of language because when you ban certain words you only achieve in making them more weaponised to those who would use them as such. Say it for what it is. Of course SEND kids aren't normal in terms of education. If we had no normal, with which to refererence then there wouldnt even be any SEND category or any other outlier category for that matter. Normal is what sets the base standard for literally everything we perceive in life.