To hate the word 'underprivileged'

[fackinell]

It's been used a lot on Children in Need tonight. It sounds so old fashioned and patronising. I much prefer 'additional needs' which shows a person is in need of something extra. Underprivileged is right up there with 'handicap' for me; which I was informed by my senior SCO was from a time when some disabled children were sent out to beg. Am I alone in hating this?

I think the term "additional needs" was brought in up here to be all-encompassing.

So, for example, a child who is a young carer would be considered to have an additional need in that they might require extra support of some kind.

x-post with you OP- that's what I was trying to say in a cack-handed way

A child who is struggling in any way can be considered to have "additional" needs?

I would associate the term "underprivileged" with poverty. I don't have a problem with it either.We live in a very deprived area. It's nonsense to assume that the kids round here have the same opportunities and motivations as the middle-class kids round the corner.

"A child who is struggling in any way can be considered to have "additional" needs?"

I don't think they can, the Youth Centre that my DD uses is in Norris Green, a area with has drug, gun, gang problems, a lot if the kids suffer from not having the level of parenting that the children just 10 mins away have (private estates), as well as income.

Their needs are not additional, they are fundamental.

The Youth Club has kept going because Disabled Chidren attend, they can tap into funding. This was cut when we had a change In Government. It kept going because if a donation from CIN, it has featured on a few Television Make Over shows, as well.

I think that there should be a difference given to the problems that can be solved by the Carers of children, in fundamental terms and those that can't.

I think it's important to keep the discussion focused on the UK and the problems that can be overcome within that generations childhood, tbh, otherwise it all becomes hypothetical and meanwhile children reach adulthood without the support they need.

additional needs is different from under privilged imo
a privilged child is a happy child what they have stuff and lots of money is an added bonus a child whos basic needs are not being met are under priviliged a child who's basic needs are being met but still not thriving has additional needs, so a child who has a happy homelife but has a disability and needs extra support has additional needs,

please excuse my typing and the use of the word thriving i couldnt think of another word

I'm with Salmo on the additional needs use. It's a much nicer way of covering all. My niece is dyslexic and a few years ago she would have been called SEN. Additional sounds much kinder than special. That sounds rather precocious to children with a wide spectrum of abilities.

I see what you're saying MrsJay but how would you describe the needs if the child didn't have the basic needs covered? Would they still be basic or additional then as they didn't have them?

probably they would be seen as underpriviliged and their additional needs were a result of their enviroment

FWIW i dont like the word either I think it sounds Victorian . I wonder if disadvantaged is a better word or is that worse ?

Not much better IMO. I'd love to see some very positive words introduced. I've worked with people with many types of needs and some of my clients with autism were almost gifted in ways such as memory and numeracy skills.

I grew up with an aunt who had mild learning difficulties due to epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis, she was a fantastic artist and seamstress. But she had no job because she was labeled 'mentally handicapped.' It upsets me now that although she was loved so much, she was seen as having no potential (not by us i must add) even with those skills. The recent changes of full inclusion, person centred and goal planning and ability recognition are great news for people with disabilities.

God I miss working in social care.

I agree but tbh being in poverty and having a really rubbish life isn't all that positive especially if you are a child, maybe a different word would sound better and a lot of the c i n projects do have positive outcomes but the fact still remains that these kids have difficulties that a word won't change IYSWIM, and although underpriviliged might be a word that looks negative if you have worked in social care it is words that need to be used to get help, labels do stick though so it is a cycle ,

I have a disability and the words that have been used over the decades used to make me cringe

I would assume "additional needs" referred to learning difficulties or physical disability. Few people would consider it to cover financial hardship in family.

"Economically disadvantaged" seems clearer what you are talking about.

Problem is, however you word it, it's going to have negative connetations, because it's a negative thing.

Interesting. To me, privilege means that through luck of birth, one has access to things many others do not have and are able to go through life without having to be concerned the way many other people do. Someone once called it a social immunity, to be in a position through nothing but birth that allowed one to ignore the issues of others if they so chose. Everyone should have access to those things, but many don't, and those people would be underprivileged - the system is wrong is denying them the privileges that it had been built to give a few and those wronged by the system have been put under those who have it. But I recognize this is a very academic point of view that is rarely put across well.

I have noticed in wider conversations about this, the term underpowered, underfunded, social immunity (usually specifically ablebodied immunity, gender immunity, race immunity to show that one can be immune or privilege in one area does not give that to all areas of life and the importance of recognizing social intersections) are getting to be used more often because of the backlash against by most people to the word privilege in an academic sense goes against how most people use it in a social sense.

Problem is, however you word it, it's going to have negative connetations, because it's a negative thing.

this really I am not sure there is any way positive that you can say it

They wouldn't raise any funds if they highlighted the positive. For people to give, they have to perceive the recipient to be in need.

For charity purposes, underprivileged or disadvantaged work fine for me.

As others have said, you can't use positive words to describe negative circumstances.

Bloody hell. It's not a bad word. I wish people would stop getting their knickers in a twist over silly stuff like this.

I grew up in poverty. I was a disadvantaged child and I knew it. I couldn't have given a stuff. I'm the eldest of four and my youngest brother had additional needs. There was a world of difference between him and his siblings. He had additional needs, we were all disadvantaged.

There is nothing wrong with the word at all. It doesn't leave a stigma and it doesn't affect people's lives. Actually being disadvantaged affects people.

So rather than getting wound up over the word used to describe it, get het up about how children's lives are affected by being disadvantaged and do something about that.

Awesome post, heartbroken. I agree.

Yes I cringe at them too! Especially the derogatory ones that were used cruelly by many people. I agree there is nothing positive (other than it will hopefully improve or have action taken) in cases such as abuse. Neglect and child poverty. I would struggle to find any positive word to describe those examples. I guess things like this can be circumstantial and describe the situation as opposed to the labelling of a person.

I had a violent, alcoholic Father and have anxiety issues (although you'd never realise) such as panic attacks and OCD, the latter two are now controlled. I would say at one stage I was debilitated by it but one word won't fit all situations. It's a tricky one and I don't have the answer to.

As a person with a disability, I would imagine you wouldn't want to be defined by it, MrsJay. I think that's the bit that bugs me, but outrage on another's behalf is a bit off of me, I suppose. I went out with one of my clients and an elderly man patted him on the head and said 'helloooo sonny.' He went ballistic! Some people are just a bit ignorant of it all. This was an intelligent man he was talking to, he just couldn't click his delta talker fast enough to tell him to fuck off.

Heartbrokenmum - you have a good point, most word changes around this tend to be very top down affairs that make little difference to the people involved but make others feel better. The ones groups themselves do tend to take a lot longer to filter through, if at all. There is currently work on trying to change the work privilege/underprivileged and advantage/disadvantage from being the automatic words for this, but that's mostly because people are incredibly defensive at being called privileged and told they have an advantage.

Earlier this week I was discussing the barriers that poverty and being disadvantaged brought, and I pretty much got a bunch of very well off white women telling me how it sounded like a bunch of excuses and listing off all the cheap things they do, 'why can't they just do X' where X is a very time consuming thing that few can do, claiming that their financial stability had nothing to do with their options or choices or how they made decisions, and pretty much blaming everything on poor communities and other underrepresented communities. Most of the people working on this want a better word because the defensive barrier it causes means a lot less gets done and a lot of energy is spent explaining and calming things down.

Spork, I've met people like this too. The 'I live in a £1,000 000 London house but I'm so poor.' Yes their overheads may be higher but it's all relative.

My mum couldn't afford to put me through Uni, so I have done a string of lowly paid jobs on a basic college education. Privilege definitely breeds privilege. Few make it truly out of the cycle if poverty IMO.

I am American; I work for a charity dedicated to certain social justice issues. We debate this and related concerns fairly often, and I don't really have much to add to the debate today, except that I do think it matters very much to "put people first."

I have a child (now an adult) who has dyslexia and other serious learning difficulties. When he was about 10 or so, he came home from school one day and told us "I am not dyslexic. I have dyslexia." He then went on to say, "it does not describe the whole me; it is just one of the things about me." That shift in language truly made a difference in my child's attitude about his circumstances. Needless to say, the wonderful teacher who helped him to this discovery was also a very important factor.

As a person with a disability, I would imagine you wouldn't want to be defined by it, MrsJay. I think that's the bit that bugs me,

oh yes it is what i have not who I am but it doesn't mean I don't have difficulties so of course i am a positive person but I do have days where i want to curl up in a balland not get up because i am in pain or just feeling so naff that it hard to getup so a person shouldn't be defined by their thing but it is important to remember their thing can be a disadvantage to them these words describe a persons situation imo

Scone, your son's teacher sounds amazing. What a difference highlighting the positive can make.

I totally get everyone's point about the wording used to raise funds, yes it is just a word and I have actually done a lot of work with children and adults with additional needs so the 'do something about it' was a little rude. I wouldn't say I'm getting my knickers in a twist; just that modern day children deserve to have their abilities celebrated.

I remember well that people used to be pigeon holed as 'mentally or physically handicapped' and that they were expected to achieve very little because of this. In this day and age my aunt could have had a fantastic career with her skills instead the occasional token photo in the paper for her tapestries and painting with Adult Training Centre member made good emblazoned over the headline. Why was it even necessary to comment on that. She was a woman first who happened to be a member of a 'handicapped club' as it was them called.

I agree, MrsJay. I know there are limitations too. That's why I don't feel it's my place to have this outrage, I've done a lot of advocacy work too so maybe why I feel so passionate about it.