To be sick of all the newspaper articles saying lies about DLA and PIP

[elliejjtiny]

To get any DLA or PIP you have to be significantly disabled. To get the higher rate of either part you have to be severely disabled.

A motability car is not free, it's rented. To get one you need to either be unable to walk 50 metres or have a severe learning disability, which is very difficult to get.

It's always happened but since the stuff in the news about changes to PIP it's got worse.

Articles in the newspapers claiming you can get a free car for bed wetting, which just doesn't happen. There will be children like my ds who get DLA because they have a number of problems including bedwetting but nobody gets high rate mobility for bed wetting on its own.

There are other articles about people claiming PIP and DLA for various minor sounding conditions and I am so fed up with it. I know from experience that the newspapers will have talked to people claiming PIP/DLA and twist everything they say to make them sound like a scrounger.

All these articles are giving off the message that anyone with any minor disability can claim loads of benefits.

"Let’s wait for the bare classrooms where parents complain their children are sitting in something akin to a prison cell all day. I honestly think they can’t win."

My son's specialist school classroom was as described and it was far from bare and a prison cell. It was just calming rather than in your face overstimulating.

Am I not vulnerable? As a disabled woman I’ve been spammed relentlessly with 4 or 5 posters piling on at a time, been called disgraceful/stupid/half brained/idiot, been subject to posters posting each other about me in the third person.

Let me guess, that sort of ‘bullying’ is ok in your eyes as I deserve it? I’ve been unfailingly polite - no insults, no swear words, no personal accusations. You just don’t like what I’m saying. Particularly when it involves facts you don’t like.

Aha. So I was right. You are a social worker. Not remotely surprised.

The self-righteous, defensive and opinionated attitude and immunity to logic or evidence of social workers stands out like a sore thumb.

But that’s a specialist school. Regular schools aren’t specialist schools, even if they are starting to take that shape. Lots of students enjoy colour, noise, group work, all the things you want done away with.

As I said, as LAs have been shown time and again, lack of resources, funding, staffing are not lawful excuses for acting unlawfully. It is amazing what LAs manage when faced with enforcement action.

Thankfully, the law disagrees with you.

I am not a social worker. What’s wrong with you?!

I see. Predictable escalation to DARVO.

I think you’ll find that the vast majority of people’s perception of the thread, if they have read it all, will be somewhat different.

No it doesn’t. Labour are supporting councils and have said they won’t be allocating any more SEN funding. They’re rolling back the entitlement to EHCPs. None of this is nice, but it’s necessary. The law hugely overpromised at a time it was thought only a small minority of children would be disabled - it’s going to have to change to reflect where we are now, like it did during Covid.

I am not a fan at all of distressing others. Or making passive aggressive insults. They are not mutually exclusive.

And tarring a whole profession rather than saying ‘some’ social workers, isn’t a good look. No wonder they are in a recruitment crisis. There are some amazing ones. Who will argue and fight till they get their clients the resources they need. And of course there are dreadful power-hungry, corrupt, lazy, cruel and/or neglectful ones too. Stereotyping isn’t helpful though.

That’s fine.

Yes, it does.

The law and legal thresholds for EHCNAs and EHCPs haven’t changed despite what some are trying to claim. Neither has the duty under s42 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Cognitive overload (too much information crammed in) and visual overload are known to be a counterproductive factor in education. Many teachers know this. It’s not good for anyone, particularly in an environment where children are expected to be calm and work.

There’s a lot of info about this. You’re denying all of these points despite there being evidence to the contrary. At this point it feels like you’d claim black is white if saying white is white might benefit a disabled pupil!

I apologise if any of my posts have come across as bullying, that has not been my intention. I have operated under the (clearly wrong) assumption that most people want to understand things better, this is one of those subjects close to me heart and it’s frustrating that schools resist anything that might make life easier for teachers, pupils, and the pupils families. It feels obstructive and small minded. Life should and could be better than this.

We have had a lot of involvement with children's services social workers because our son is severely disabled and almost all of the time it has been a good experience. They appear to be committed to their jobs and want to do the best they can for us. We will be sad to lose their support when he turns 18.

As usual, these arguments can be very extreme.

It is possible to inhabit a middle ground. Where you want everybody with a disability to have the same opportunities as those without disability if possible. You want disabled people to have a place in the workforce if that is what they want. But they should also be supported by the state to have a decent quality of life, if they don’t work. And yes, that might mean holidays and nice Christmases. If people can budget for that, well then good for them.

Illegal claiming of course should be clamped down upon.

It is also possible at the same time to be worried about the increasing benefit burden. Especially if you have young adult kids and you are looking at a workforce where it feels like the ratio of taxpayers and non-taxpayers is going to go up a lot. That is a worry that is legitimate I think for the coming decades, with an ageing population too.

I certainly don’t have the solutions. Making a world that is more inclusive for all would be a good step.

I think current sentiments reflect a population that is tired, possibly scared at what is happening in the world and uncertain about the future. Some people seem to be working a lot and seeing that their money is not going as far as it would have done twenty years ago. That tends to make people less tolerant and more frustrated when those around them are not working. It is human nature, to some degree.

I think life is tough now. Whether you are earning a low wage or living on benefits. I would never covet a life on PIP etc and despite not being in perfect health, I consider myself lucky to be able to work (till now). Living on benefits which can be changed by the government any time is not something I would actively choose for me or my family, and certainly not something I think most people would try and gain by fraudulent means.

I believe benefit fraudsters exist. I see no point denying it. But I do think that there are better ways to try and solve this country’s problems than focusing on this group.

Why are you making up stuff now? You are not coming across well. I’m afraid that you now look like you have a chip on your shoulder and an agenda here. I am sorry you have suffered at the hands of SS. But your case is just that, your case. You are being unfair.

"But that’s a specialist school. Regular schools aren’t specialist schools, even if they are starting to take that shape. Lots of students enjoy colour, noise, group work, all the things you want done away with."

Specialist schools have those things too but manage it without bright shiny over-decorated classroom walls and dodgy lighting.

I’m not a social worker but in my previous job I had to read their reports. In many of those reports, I’m certain the family wouldn’t have liked what was written but objectively it was the right thing to write.

See it like this, a mum posted on our fb group recently because her child had been prescribed antibiotics and was refusing to take them (child was 3). The parent was tearing their hair out, they’d tried bribery, pleading with them etc. Most of the responses said to just pin them down and administer the antibiotics as they had a serious infection and the need for medicine was the priority. The mum just didn’t want to hear it - said how abusive it would be, how sad she would feel to see them so upset etc.

It’s a bit like this. Sometimes you can see what needs to happen but as the parents is so emotionally involved, it stops them from seeing what should happen.

And then those children won't get the education they need and most likely end up on benefits which will cost the country more

No need to apologise. I don’t feel bullied - I was just making the point that ‘bullying’ isn’t just somebody saying something you don’t like and in fact the behaviour toward me on here has been far more bullying than the reverse.

There is also scientific evidence that screens are causing sensory, speech and socialisation problems with children, but nobody is interested in that - they just say it’s parent blaming, and suddenly don’t like ‘medical science’ as much. Here are some fairly horrifying statistics:

10% of 6 year olds have their own smartphone
50% of children have access to a family smartphone
88% of 12 year olds have their own smartphone
85% of 6 year olds use a tablet at home, and 40% have their own tablet
The average toddler misses out on hearing 1000 spoken words a day due to excessive screen time
For every extra minute of screen time, three-year-olds are hearing seven fewer words, speaking five fewer words themselves and engaging in one less conversation
Child tablet use at 3.5 years old is associated with a higher number of expressions of anger and frustration a year later. Children who were more prone to anger and frustration at 4.5 years old were more likely to have higher tablet use a year later. Early childhood tablet use causes problems in child emotional regulation.
Among kids 2- to 5-years old, those whose parents often used technology to manage their negative emotions were more likely to show poor anger and frustration management a year later

and that’s not even started on the effects of smartphones and screens on teenage MH.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence the SEN we see now relates to speech, anger, and failure to meet appropriate milestones.

I don’t think we should go turning schools upside down until we have addressed what seems to be the elephant in the room. If 88% of 12 year olds have unfettered access to something as damaging as a smartphone what is the answer? An expensive SEMH school place or removal of the phone?

But parents ‘won’t be told’ apparently

Exactly. That’s why these things are so short sighted, if proper support was in place more young people would be able to reach their own potential and thrive. Too many are just surviving at the moment

Oh i completely agree re phones!
I’d welcome a complete ban on smartphones for under 16s like Australia is doing.

I stick by what I say about schools though, phones or no phones schools have become more hostile places over the years for children, even before they had smartphones. It could easily be reversed, but no one wants to 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s a little naive to suggest that an expensive special school place is required because of phone use though.

I don’t think it is.

The rise in SEN has neatly correlated with the introduction of smart phones and tablets, and their increased used and ownership in households.

There are a vast array of studies linking them with the exact issues we are seeing as the disabilities causing a rise in SEN - speech, SEMH and inability to regulate emotions and concentration.

Is this all just one huge coincidence? Is it instead wall art in classrooms and things like that?

The problem is no parent is willing to chuck all the tech and stick by it for a solid 6 months to see what happens. It’s easier handing the tech over and asking a professional to do something about it. Some children’s brains might not even need much screen time to be affected - the studies produce an average, not a uniform conclusion.

While this won’t apply to every child with SEN the evidence suggests there is a massive link.

I think the current system is not fit for purpose. Both from an affordability and effectiveness perspective.

There will be some in genuine need who currently don’t get the support they should and hopefully an improved and updated assessment process should help them more than current

If the overhaul is done properly, genuine claimants should have nothing to fear.

The problem was happing when my now adult dc were at school, when no children had phones. You could see the changes happening.

I’m not denying that smartphones play their part, but having seen the changes in schools that have corresponded to the difficulties that more and more children have, there does seem to be a little more to it.

Then again if it is completely down to phones then banning them will fix it. If not banning them would still be a positive move anyway, so I’m all for a ban!

If the overhaul is done properly, genuine claimants should have nothing to fear

The proposed cuts have not been thought through properly. The government isn't even consulting on a key change, so will not get the benefit of expert feedback on the considerable drawbacks. Genuine claimants have, unfortunately, much to fear.