to ask you to PLEASE teach your children about autism

[CrochetBelle]

Apparently 'autistic' is now being used as an insult by teenagers - who really should know better.

Do your children know what autism is? Autism is not 'sitting in a corner rocking'. Autism is not 'Sheldon Cooper'. Autism is a whole spectrum and affects people to varying degrees. It does affect people though. There is no such thing as mild autism.

Schools are continuously waving the 'autism accredited' flag these days, with mandatory training on ASD. Don't get me wrong, that's great progress, but when you ask them what they are teaching the children? Nothing.

There is a whole host of accurate, reliable information out there about autism, and what it means. Please make sure your children are aware. Ignorance is no excuse.

Sadly, my experience suggests this is applicable also to the mandatory ASD training of (some) school staff.

Well I guess that's the heart of it really isn't it? A whole cultural change is needed root and branch so disablism is as unacceptable as racism and it's something that people keep in mind every day.

They do this at my son's school (although I'm aware that as a parent of NT children I don't have a perfect insight into it), but it can be done. Although I should say it's a Catholic school and as such is highly, highly disability positive.

Agree with Samcro

Ableist bullying is horrible and I do think education about what autism is could help, but it needs to be accompanied by discussions with pupils about why it is wrong to call someone racist/sexist/ableist/homophobic names. The policy of telling kids “you can’t say that” doesn’t seem to have worked. More work needs to be done on building empathy and understanding the impact. That said, there are still many, many children still being called ‘gay’/whore/nr and pk.

And racism is still acceptable to many people. It hasn’t gone away.

The problem with teaching about autism is that even with good intention it would very easily end up just magnifying the stereotypes so could make things worse or at least not be helpful. No two autistic people are the same!

Creating an atmosphere in schools where differences are accepted, questions are answered and everyone is respected would be much better - but of course you can only counter what is being said at home so much in school.

We’ve had a dire experience with my four year old in mainstream that is very much discrimination. School staff need to have a better understanding unfortunately our school were offered training firstly paid for (we offered to pay), then free, then specific to my dc. They turned it all down.

Wow, this thread is depressing. When my son was diagnosed he said it was good as no one will call him weird anymore now they know why he is different. But then I read threads like this and it breaks my heart.

My bottom line is, yes it's terrible, yes, I'd like it to change, please don't take any more time out of my kids school day.

@TabbyMumz How can think it's not offensive to say this to the parents of children with autism? It makes no sense. It's only through education (at school and home) that things will change. As many adults also need educating in this subject I feel it would be a good use of school time.

Autism Awareness is very much something that everyone needs. There is so much ignorance surrounding autism.

No one is taking time out of a kids education or day though either. Just to reassure tabby
Teaching can be embedded into the curriculum. It can be embedded into TE lessons when discussing difference and intolerance, into English when covering texts which allow discussion in difference, into PE where they do a lot of theory now it can be covered by talking about different physical abilities and reasons for physical differences and also into the PHSE or whatever they call it in their school as well as assemblies.

It's very worrying that when we are all saying tolerance and disability awareness should be present naturally in society their are STILL people who don't even want it mentioned in school.

"pisacake, that's really interesting. Because much of the 4Channy stuff is in a way rather like the way black people have reclaimed the 'n' word. Because it does tend to have a lot of people with autism on there doesn't it? "

yes, they have a semi-autism board there www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/31r7jd/whats_the_deal_with_r9k/

Skadespelerskorna

Please don't feel guilty.

It's the constant minimising and misunderstanding of dd's condition for the last 25 years that can make me defensive. I often hear these ill-informed assumptions which apart from the first one in some rare circumstances are totally wrong.
She doesn't look disabled. She has no problems. She can have a conversation with me so whatever she's got must be mild. If she can do task A it stands to reason she can also do task B, C and D. Of course she can understand information, she went to mainstream school.

She was assessed for ASD as an adult after being on the NHS waitlist for over 18 months, because she needs an NHS diagnosis (alongside others we already have) for something important to her long-term future and medical proof of disability is required.

In our area, for an ASD diagnosis, they will not assess adults who present with MH problems, there's a screening on initial referral from the GP to rule out any MH issues before they will fund an ASD diagnosis. All areas are different and there are private options if you feel you want to pursue a diagnosis. Good Luck

Thanks HolidayArmadillo.

I think most schools do do their best to stamp out all offensive name-calling, not just disablist language. But when teenagers think their are out of the hearing of teachers (or their parents) then they will use whatever is the current "insult".

Teachers and parents will punish them if it's heard but, for some, it's a particularly offensive stage they seem to go through. It's a form of anti-authority showing off and is quite deliberate.

While I agree in principle, sometimes it wont make a blind bit of fucking difference.

Ds has autism and one of the kids who winds him up and teases him the most has a brother with the same condition.

If even HE can't leave DS alone, then what fucking chance have the people who don't live with it every day.

Bollocks that it's just a "stage" that teenagers are expected to go through. I know many, many more teenagers that would NOT call someone "autistic" as an insult, than would. If these teenagers can know it's unacceptable, then so can others (unless a developmental reason otherwise of course).

Funnily enough, the parents of kids who can't stop their children saying others are autistic (as an insult) or, for example, a mong, likely would be more upset if their child said "retard" instead. Why is that?

I didn't say "just" a stage, Crochet, how rude of you to put words in my mouth. I also didn't say "most", either, I said "some".

But feel free to pretend I said something I didn't just so you can froth away.

So bollocks to you as well.

If you know how quotation marks work, you'll see that I have neither claimed your use of the words "just" or "most"

There have been several posters on this thread who have alluded to this kind of offense being a phase teenagers go through. At no point was my comment directed solely at you.

So shove your bollocks.

Sadly lots of schools stick their head in the sand and Ignore prejudiced language Kaya. Lots of them don’t want to admit they have a bullying problem but that means they can’t address it. You’re right that being authoritarian about it doesn’t work - they will just say it when out of earshot like you said. But that doesn’t mean we should accept it as just a stage; it means we need to address the root causes of it in society rather than just treating the symptoms. No one should have to put up with prejudice or bullying.

But that doesn’t mean we should accept it as just a stage; it means we need to address the root causes of it in society rather than just treating the symptoms. No one should have to put up with prejudice or bullying.

I absolutely agree, I was just saying that from a teacher's point of view it isn't as easy to clamp down on as we would wish. But it's a much wider issue than just autism, sadly.

So kaya please explain to me as a teacher why it is if a child calls another a racist word then they will automatically have a heavy sanction and the incident will be reported to the LA.

Yet if a pupil does the same thing but using disablist language there is no such reporting required and no policy to match racism.

And I can tell you in my ds school (I'm basing my posting on knowledge of actual events) that the racist incident was reported to HOY by a group of pupils who take the loss out of the one they reported.
No adult was present.
Yet adults have witnessed my ds being called a spastic and being told to stop being autistic and the action has been minimal in comparison.

The problem with his type of approach is that you are actually going what they say they trying to change with the racism policy - you are singing out a group as being less important as another group with regards to their working conditions.

It beggars belief that disablism isn’t socially unacceptable in the same way as racism or homophobia, it’s the same kind of horrid treatment and should have the same consequences imo.

I don't make the rules, unfortunately. You need to lobby your local council or MP for parity.

I'm sorry that the teachers in your DS's school are not treating the unacceptable language more seriously. In all the schools where I have taught there would be sanctions. Speak to the head or the governors about a proper policy being adopted for dealing with it.