To think this is a really awful thing to say? Tw

[Goldyy]

Referring to children who don’t have behavioural issues or SEND as ‘normal’ children?

You don’t see it offensive that by referring to your dc as normal you are inferring dc with SEN or any neuro divergence are ABnormal?

it’s not about being normal or abnormal is it. Having dyslexia or adhd or ASD doesn’t make someone ABNORMAL.

do you think calling someone a retard is ok too? Is it pandering to the always offended crowd not to use that term?

They do not get 'special' treatment or extra opportunities, they are sometimes granted support (financial and/or otherwise) in order to try to put them in a similar position to that of a child without their additional needs. In terms of DLA, the highest level of mobility allownace plus care component is under £750 per 4 weeks, and a child may not necessarily qualify for both elements, or the highest level of both elements. You can rightly be pissed off that the Government doesn't value education and teaching enough to actually invest money in it, but I think your apparent anger at families who qualify for additional help is unfair and misplaced.

No not at all, just for super young naive primary kids. I am very severe adhd myself, but great at masking it, so i understand the struggles it’s had on my life and if I had had help a lot sooner I do think my life would have been different as I would understand my life choices. I suppose I just felt sorry for her as her best friend went on the trip and she couldn’t as she wasn’t SEN.

Do you not feel sorry for her best friend, that she may have a lifetime of difficulties due to her SEN?
It’s one bloody trip. If your daughter wants to go to her ‘favourite place’, then take her. Her life isn’t going to be affected by missing a trip.

😂

If you can't use the word "normal" which word can you use to refer to people without special needs?
The meaning of normal is "pertaining to the majority" so that would be an accurate description of the majority of children. I can't see why it's offensive. If a child has additional needs then they clearly aren't normal. I have diabetes so my health is not normal, it's abnormal, what's the problem with stating the reality of the situation.
Normal is not an offensive word, it's not as if I'm going around calling people with extra needs any of the many extremely offensive words which exist.

oh shush

Normal may not be offensive, @Buxusmortus, but it puts you in mind of its opposite, abnormal, which certainly is.

TYPICAL is the word usually used. Atypical is a far more neutral term than abnormal.

(I’ve used capitals as typical has been mentioned numerous times on this thread already but some aren’t picking up on it.)

Neurotypical. It’s not that difficult, maybe google it

Well to me atypical sounds exactly the same as abnormal. I really can't see what makes one word unacceptable and the other not. It doesn't make a blind bit of difference if normal people are called normal or typical.

The dictionary definition of atypical is
‘not representative of a type, group, or class’.

The dictionary definition of abnormal is ‘deviating from what is normal or usual, typically in a way that is undesirable or worrying’.

That’s quite a difference.

Actually no. That would presume that all kids with send are ND and that's far from the truth.

Typical on its own is fine in most cases.

Oh what a shame 🙄
You begrudge one trip, my son can't access most things due to his disabilities
And your upset your daughter can't go on one trip becsuse she doesn't have SEN have you heard yourself?

Also majority of the parents thought the whole thing was odd as any child could have gone and it wasn’t Sen focused, it didn’t make any sense. Anyway a lot of the parents complained and it won’t be happening again. It wasn't begrudging Sen children it just didn’t make sense to anyone, even the school couldn't justify it. Btw I wasn’t even one of the ones who even complained to school. I just thought at the time how strange actually dividing groups of children in this way when they are all about inclusivity. Also half the school went on the school trip which just shows there a lot of Sen children and it’s a great school that really helps Sen children and accepts all children disability, ethnicity etc. it was just strange it went against what they promote.

Honestly gobsmacked that so many parents begrudge children with SEND getting what they perceive as ‘perks’, when those children are likely to face lifelong challenges.
And not only begrudge it, but actually admit to it out loud! Truly shocking.

They do!

I am in the nd online community and I was talking to a mum who said everyone at their child’s school is going for adhd assessment as it will give them a lot of money. The mums even said this to her as she has nd children and was horrified this is happening.

Everyone? Really?

If they haven’t got ADHD, they won’t be diagnosed with ADHD and won’t get ‘a lot of money’.
The forms for DLA are long and arduous. You have to go into great detail about the challenges your child has, how that affects their day to day life and what the additional cost to the family is due to those challenges. I put off filling them out for a year because quite honestly it was heartbreaking detailing all the reasons my child can’t live a normal life. You don’t just say ‘my child has ADHD’ and get sent ‘a lot of money’. Doesn’t work like that.

Yep that’s the word she used. £750 a month when you have 3 kids with adhd is a lot of money.

You would only get £750 a month if you can show, with proof, that your child has such severe difficulties that they are eligible for both higher rate DLA and higher rate mobility. My non verbal, doubly incontinent autistic child doesn’t get £750 a month.
You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.

This thread is really depressing. My daughter is neurodivergent; specifically, autistic. My son is neurotypical. I don't like the word "normal" because what's the alternative? My daughter's abnormal? Absolutely not. Her brain just works a bit differently and she has struggles that my son does not. We don't claim DLA but life absolutely costs more as I can't work outside of school hours because she can't cope with outside childcare/staying later at school; she needs private swimming lessons due to finding it hard to concentrate when the pool is busy etc. The attitudes of some posters on this thread towards SEN children makes my blood run cold and I pray she encounters more compassion in her life as things are hard enough for her as it is. Shameful.

I understand I’ve filled out those adhd forms for myself and it was heart breaking for myself to realise all these things, let alone have to do it for my child! As an adult there are no benefits, £750 a month for filling out some forms isn’t that hard. Don’t get me wrong a lot I am sure are genuine as it’s highly under diagnosed. But I think when a school trip for Sen children is arranged it needs to be something that helps them understand their condition and educate them to help themselves going forward and build their self esteem and knowledge etc. not separate them from their friends as if they are different.

£750 a month for filling out some forms isn’t that hard

If you’ve filled out the forms yourself, you will of course know that to get higher rate DLA and mobility you would have to show, with proof, that your child has such severe difficulties that they are entitled to this rate. And therefore you will know that no parent is getting £750 a month for their child just by taking them for an ADHD diagnosis for the extra cash. Fab, glad we’re both on the same page there.

Not sure about the same page but as someone with late diagnosed adhd. What I can tell you from my younger days is that I would have hated going on Sen trips and been separated from my friends and it would have made me feel very different to everyone else. I would have loved to have been taught about adhd and why I think differently to other people and why some people just don’t get me, about how easy it is to self medicate through alcohol, drugs etc. the list goes on and on…… I just hope the younger generations are getting the right treatment and knowledge they need for life to help them.

I wasn’t talking about the trip, I was talking about the fact that people obviously aren’t getting £750 a month just because they have taken their kid along for an ADHD diagnosis just for the cash.
As I said, my non verbal, doubly incontinent autistic child, who goes to a specialist school doesn’t get £750 a month, so why do you think they would?