adults with learning difficulties on small childrens' play area.

[Bethshine82]

Took DS to the play area on Friday, it is not a huge play area and has one of those signs saying it is designed for use by children 14 and under.
Whilst we were there a group of around eight adults with learning difficulties and their carers arrived. The adults proceeded to go onto the playground.
AIBU to think this isn't very fair? They were adults and they weren't really aware of their strength and size. The carers weren't supervising brilliantly and twice I saw one of the adults just shove the children out of the way. Also some of the adults were shouting and screaming which frightened some of the toddlers. Many of the children left. I'm not in any way suggesting that adults with learning difficulties shouldn't be able to go out and enjoy themselves or that they shouldn't be part of the community, I'm just not sure a small childrens' play area is the place for an adults' afternoon out.

I think that the playground should only be used by children, it isn't safe otherwise really. AIBU?

agincourt..yes, we walked towards a group of people on sun with DD in her buggy and she was waving and shouting "hello" and not one of them even smiled , just stared past her

I'd have hoped that a playground would be a fantastic opportunity for inclusion, as defined above.

The thing is that children, when younger, do tend to point and ask loud questions about people and situations that are outside their experience. And sometimes these situations frighten them.

But we shouldn't be saying that these situations shouldn't crop up at all. We should be asking why they aren't a customary part of everyone's lives, to the point that our children aren't surprised or frightened in the first place.

Special schools are inclusive too and some children will never be able to cope in mainstream education. I always feel this overlooked

fanjo, it's just horrible isnt it? They are HUMAN BEINGS

missmaviscruet that is such a terrible way to think, please don't. For every narrow minded fool that thinks that way, there'll be twenty normal, welcoming people who won't... and of that twenty there'll be a signficant chunk who have friends, relatives, loved ones with special needs or disabilities.

The issue here seems to be that the carers working with these adults were utterly letting them down by failing to facilitate safe interaction with their community and failing to keep the adults safe themselves. Of course it's not a good idea for ANY adult of 11+ stone to 'let themselves go' in a playground where they are surrounded by small children who could be seriously hurt by an arm or leg whipping about on a roundabout, etc. Common sense, as the notice in the playground set out! That goes for ANY adult. Here, the carers were in the position of making the judgement calls for their clients who are NOT in a position to make those calls for themselves. They didn't, by the look of it. If a child had been hurt, it would have been squarely the fault of the carers.

By the reports of the attitude of the carers towards the adults in their care, it looks as if the whole thing is part of a far deeper problem

They're just people you know.

They weren't hitting the kids.

They were just playing.

The carers sound like they need a kick up the backside.

But the adults with learning difficulties were doing nothing wrong.

I hope it's nice up there on your soapbox and your judgeypants give you a wedgie.

Missmavis, its so sad and depressing isnt it. My ds does similar things to your ds odd facial expressions and body movements and involuntary sounds and noises, my ds makes cat like noises, instead of bird. He even hisses when he feels threatened.

It saddens me that as parents we have to help our children to become more 'normal' to be able to fit into society, rather than society being more accepting of differences. It would be nice if we had a balance of both. Hopefully this might change a bit, as more disorders are being recognised and more diagnosis's are being made. People are no longer put into insitutions as they were 50 years ago, some of society just need to catch up, some are already understanding, its not all doom and gloom.

Missmavis, yes we have 3 cats and a dog, who he absolutely adores, he often acts more like a cat, than a human! Maybe because he has more of a connection with animals, than he does humans. Humans are complicated, animals are more simple to understand for him, i think.

There is hope

I think I had better post this here as well as the other SN chat thread.

Well I would like to come on this thread to apologize for the pathetic way in which I persued my "Problem" on yesterdays thread....I realise that one very minor incident was in no way anythiing to compare to the worry and humiliation that so many of you suffer daily.

I am truly sorry that I ever thought my opinion on people with SN and public transport was valid...I can't actually cope with thinking about the way I kept coming on thread and defending myself for being so stuck on an idea.

I am sorry. I have never been someone who ignored or was afraid of those with SN but like many people with no real experience I do get unsure at times. I am really ashamed. I had a similar awakening on MN once before but that was on a different topic and sometimes MN puts you in a new place which is all good.

No matter what difficulties people may face they should recieve the same chances in life that everyone has...wether that is getting on a bus, making frends, having fun or trying new things. I will always advocate that now and I am sorry to TheSecondComing who I was rude to personally.

^^That takes courage and bag loads of decency. Well done AwkwardMary

Thank you for that post awkwardmary

Thanks awkward. :shakes hand, pours tea: (but eat your biscuit quickly or ds1 will have it :o )

AwkwardMary, that is a really good post, thank you for coming on and doing that. it makes me feel better when i think that MN can change people's minds about this kind of thing.

Thanks but please don't thank me I feel like a shithead. I just wanted people to know that this thread and the other one that got started in cchat today did change someone so it was worth all the meandering and crap n a way.

Mary i think many of us have learned something from this thread and we have all at times got stuck in an opinion that we cannot shake off until we take a step back, at least you have the courage to apologise

Awkward, well done that took balls

we are all shitheads sometimes :o

Please can I reiterate that my only concern was that the adults were not well supervised, that some of them weighed a lot lot more than a one or two year old and that is all.
The same concerns would have been there with any group of adults.

But thanks to the person who contacted me to tell me how evil I am and wished bad things on my child. Thanks. Obviously I deserve it for wondering if eight adults are safe in a small childrens' play area. I was not suggesting the adults themselves were likely to be violent only that they were obviously much larger than the toddlers. That is all.

And although my DS has no special needs he often shouts hello to people and is ignored. That is not specific to those with ld. Public just sometimes don't want to acknowledge children they don't know.

And like awkward Mary I realise that people with children with sn have a lot more to complain about than me so I will remember that in the future.

agincourt I suppose we are!

And my bit about public ignoring children was meant to show that it might not be personal even if it feels it is. I mean I have no idea about how hard life is with a child with ld.

"But the adults with learning difficulties were doing nothing wrong."

That is utterly irrelevant when it comes to considering whether they posed a risk to the toddlers who are also people, who were also playing, and who were not doing anything wrong.

The OP has repeatedly restated that her concern was about size and nothing more, and yet there is a blind insistence that anyone who thinks adults and toddlers sharing play equipment is evil and wants all LD children exterminated.

So adults with a learning difficulty (which is the better way round, as I've learned on here, as it puts the person first not the disability), they shouldn't be allowed to be out unless what?