To not recognise Kemi Badenoch's views on ASD?

[Locutus2000]

The likely next leader of His Majesty's opposition

The Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has been criticised for a campaign pamphlet that said autistic people received “better treatment” and “economic privileges and protections”.

A pamphlet published by Badenoch’s campaign team at the Conservative party conference argued that conditions such as anxiety, as well as an autism diagnosis, had gone from something “people should work on themselves as individuals” to “something that society, schools, and employers have to adapt around”

I'd love to know what improved treatment and economic privileges I should be getting - maybe I forgot to apply.

What do Kemi supporters find attractive?

Stop spilling our secrets @Zahariel - it took me months to teach 3 year old DS to leg it out of his ASC assessment room and nearly get run over on Bromley High Street. How else can I get almost £250 a month in DLA? It’ll only take me 5 years to pay for DC’s assessment at this rate! 💰

My kid was diagnosed at 3 too. I had no idea I was supposed to have drilled her to 'pass' the tests.

Perhaps you could write a How To for dummies as it’s so easy, seeing as there are threads of other parents struggling to get an EHCP.

Not forgetting that some of the most brilliant minds have been autistic and contributed far more than the average person ever will. That's not to say autism is a "superpower", but humans have benefitted enormously from using highly intelligent autistic people to their advantage. In the right setting, many of us have so much to offer the world.

I had to help write a complaint recently on behalf of a parent with a child with one of the most severe cases of autism I have ever seen. The child cannot even walk properly or talk properly. If something happens to any part of her body (cuts her arm or something) she refuses to acknowledge that body part abd doesn't use it. I was frankly ignorant until then about Autism, only having met so called 'high functioners.'

The parent is at her wits end (literally crying at my kitchen table) trying to get the child assessed and speech therapy commenced. She has been waiting 4 years. A previous attempt to get her assessed was refused or dismissed for some unknown reason and she had to rejoin the waiting list. Two opportunities to apply and attend a special school have been missed by the SEN caseworker. The caseworker hadn't even returned repeated calls or message for nearly a year!

The mainstream school she is at is saying she can no longer attend, even though they cannot legally prevent her attending because it is no longer safe for her or the other children. She currently only attends two hours every other day. The parent has no respite. The child wears nappies at 7 and has regular screaming melt downs. She is receiving no education adequate to her needs. It has been eye opening to see this is what parents with children with SEN children must go through. Quite shocking and frankly derelict. They have to fight, it appears for their children to receive basic rights of provision.

I told her to go private to get the SALT. She couldn't afford it, which has delayed her child's progression at a critical point of her neurodevelopment, but hey, if she finds the cash and jumps the queue the benefit money will make it all worth it I guess! Silver linings and all that🙄

What can I say. Autism gives me super powers.

She needs to get in touch with sossen or ipsea. If she is on a low income and starts an appeal she will may get legal aid and get some assessments funded. There is also a charity which pays for some assessments when parents can't.

Gotcha

I agree - I'm in the seat next door and we swung hard to the Lib Dems in the last election, with the useless Tory MP losing a huge majority. I'm certain it's down to the London movers (and very welcome they are too!)

Also laser eyes.

Thanks for this!

@Perzival

Zahariel · Today 14:34

What can I say.

Just an idea, but how about "nothing" ?

How do you know you're autistic @Zahariel?

And yet if this thread was about her comments about trans people 95% of people on this site would be agreeing. Crazy how it's fine to agree with conservative and cruel statements about one group of people but this is apparently just below the belt

I think most of us here would disagree with her trans statements too. You can't make that judgement that we are against trans rights just because we are on mumsnet. I don't have any strong opinions on it really possibly because my childs rights are being destroyed and that is more pressing, but it really fucks me off when I hear the 'don't know what a woman is' statement like it's the only thing that matters and that it makes abhorrent behaviour somehow acceptable.

Anyway, we are talking about autism here and there is a random troll being a massive nob about posting a load of made up shit up thread too that is derailing too.

@Zahariel can you give some specific examples of a parent saying the right things to get an autism diagnosis for their child. I was diagnosed myself privately as a child but I had been admitted to hospital for self harming and issues with my sleep because I couldn’t cope. I would also run away when distressed. How do you determine if someone is faking or not?

My autistic son with an EHCP is without a school place and the LA are providing nothing. We are taking legal action but the LA are lying and blustering all the way to a judicial review. It cost us £6k before legal aid kicked. My son is definitely getting preferential treatment.

It won’t let me edit it but I want to add I thought you needed evidence like that to get diagnosed but maybe I’m wrong

Whilst I think KB's comments go too far I feel in agreement with some of what she is saying. What has happening in schools and colleges is that certain groups have been given higher priority than others. Whilst it might not feel like special treatment the amount of funding directed towards those with with mild to medium needs and the additional help given in terms of exam time, support, deadlines means those groups have in general been given privileges over and above the average pupil. The average student is almost forgotten as they can cope, we should be seeking to ensure that all students aspiring to achieve their potential rather than narrowing the gap. It is not surprising some pupils feel resentful of the privileges afforded for some students at schools or that some parents voice similar opinion. This view does trickle through to society - I am not talking about those with high needs but those for whom the support etc provides them with a privilege. Admittedly there is a fine line as to where this line is.

That's completely fair and I only mention it because all other mentions of her I've seen on here has been rapturous praise for her comments about trans people.

Oh give over @Ilovetowander - disabled children getting their needs met takes nothing away from others. It’s meant to level the playing field and the schools don’t exactly fall over themselves to offer any reasonable adjustment. If other DC don’t appreciate the difficulties experienced by some ND children at school, and feel hard done by, we need to raise them with better empathy and understanding. Not take the support away from those who need it.

Can you give a specific example of this? Because as far as I’m aware, these so-called privileges such as extra time are put in place for reasons such as needing extra time to process and understand or they may have other extra difficulties which mean they need more time because of their disability, and these accommodations are put in place because of the way their disability effects them. If you argue that a non disabled person might need these accommodations due to other things going on in their lives, a disabled person could still have issues with their disability AND things going to on in their lives. These accommodations just help to put disabled and non disabled on the same kind of level so they can have similar opportunities in life

@Vinvertebrate

My point is that it doesn't become a level playing field, what is happening is that schools have accommodated pupils with mild and more moderate needs. In the process of becoming more accessible those middle pupils are prirotiesd . If this country wants to improve then it needs its children to ensure that education for the middle group allows them to up their game. What has happened is that Ofsted have focused upon those with with additional needs so schools have given this group priority - maybe not all schools but certainly some.

I think arguing that accommodations for autistic people with “mild” needs (not really such a thing) should be removed is like saying that people who can’t always walk should have their wheelchairs and mobility aids removed to fund fancy shoes and cars for abled bodied people because it’s “not fair”. This is a load of shit and I feel like we’re going backwards as a society