MNHQ here: should Mumsnet sign up as a member of a new campaign on children with disabilities?

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

Mumsnet's been asked whether we want to sign up long-term as a supporter of the newly launched Disabled Children's Partnership. So, as ever with these things, we said we'd ask what our users thought.

Here's what the DCP has to say about itself:

"The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) is an exciting new collaboration between 25 disability and children’s charities (listed below). As charities we have come together in the shared belief that health and social care services can and must be better if disabled children, young people and families are to get the support they need to enhance their life chances. The partnership was founded in 2015 to build on the excellent work of the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign."

"The partnership will work with disabled young people and their families to launch a major new campaign in England in 2017. The campaign will set out to challenge the political status quo and proactively raise the profile of the challenges that so many disabled children, young people and families face."

"The concerns, experiences and stories of disabled children, young people and their families will be at the forefront of the campaign, and therefore need to shape its development."

"Members Steering Group
· Action for Children
· Contact a Family (Chair)
· Mencap (Secretariat)
· National Autistic Society
· National Children’s Bureau
· Sense (Treasurer)
· Scope
· The Children’s Trust
· The Family Fund
· Together for Short Lives
· Well Child
Supporters
· Carers UK
· Carers Trust
· NDCS
· Ambitious About Autism
· Disability Challengers
· Working Families
· Whizz Kids
· Family and Childcare Trust
· Blind Children UK
· Rainbow Trust
· I CAN
· The Communications Trust
· The Seashell Trust"

We here at MNHQ think this looks like a good way to maximise campaigning impact on health and social care issues - but of course as ever we want to know what you think, so please do tell us whether you think we should sign up.

Thanks

i know its bad form to link like that, but thats just one day/weekend
I could probably find others.
the annoying thing is when mn hq have posted on these threads and so we know they are aware. yet is left up!!

Maybe MN mods could use some training in challenging ableism and/or diversity training? Not saying they are ableist but dealing / moderating these threads in a professional capacity might be good to have specific training. People listen and pay attention to posts from MN on threads.

That is what I am talking about samcro. A thread could be closed and a message from mnhq put on with an explanation of the law at least! It's ridiculous. Gosh 14 year old boy with or without autism stares at woman in a swimming pool. It's hardly earth shattering stuff.
How often are we stared at?
Most of you have more patience than me though to keep challenging it. I have enough to deal with in my own day to day, community.

I haven't been on for a few days and spotted that thread immediately, I have sent this request;

HQ I am not even going to get into this thread because of how it will go but really how can you ask us to support you joining a children with disabilities awareness campaign when threads like this are still up from yesterday. Start taking a hard line with this crap and you may find more support from those of us who have to live it. SHUT THE THREAD DOWN!!!

I love MN, I don't love the slack permissiveness of intolerance and bullying - I hope it changes for the better. We may even see less trawling from the daily fail if this click bait disablist bullshit is met with zero tolerance from here on in. Asking us to support awareness campaigns whilst leaving this sort of fishing hook thread standing for 24hrs is disgusting.

Owllady you have talked so much sense here and kept patient beyond my current capabilities, thank you for persevering

well mn hq have now posted on that thread, yep theres a link to the TIMC campaign......and threads still there.
its like banging your head against a brick wall

At the moment it would be a no from me.

It''s a long list of charities but I agree with other posters that I'd like to see mental health included.

I just think MN works best when there is a clear call to action rather than a "lets just join a list of charities" with no clear purpose.

Yes, that sums it up for me too.

Yes. I agree with other posters though that this should be broadened to include provisions and help with the transition into and continued adulthood care needs for those that need it.

I think mental health should definitely be included, such as YoungMinds.

Also have concerns as both NAS and Mencap have had group homes found to be unsatisfactory by the CQC...

Hawkings

I tried my best on that thread I really did but acutely felt like a lone wolf.

songbird I've been there on threads before, it's awful. Most of the time I don't bother, I can't bear it.

as owl says we already have to deal with it enough in our day to day community - you shouldn't be saddled with such ignorance here. It's not our responsibility to educate people - it's their responsibility not to be ignorant and act like ableist twats while living in a civilised society.

The creation / existence of the thread itself was a problem. The phrasing of the title "partially dressed" etc was goady as fuck when the true title was

WIBU to be so offended and distressed because a disabled teenager stared at me?

The answer to that is Obviously YABU and Fuck Off and YABU even more so for actually starting the thread

But it's been dressed up and hidden as "partially dressed" aka voluntarily wearing a bikini at a mixed sex poolside and feeling "perved on" to somehow make the "affront" valid and get people jumping on that bandwagon.

Fuck....that should've been my post. Fuck it I ain't going back now. No-one's mind will change.

I know - the language was loaded

"partially dressed" FFS Framing the OP as vulnerable and in a state of transition or surprise -

I agree the entire premise of the post was egregious.

Framing a disabled 12 year old as a sexual pervert is beyond the pale. It's also sexist as was pointed out and wrong on so many other levels it doesn't bear contemplating.

Approaching those threads is like staring into the abyss. Rarely ever does anyone try to understand or have a change - they just want their righteous indignation to be validated so they can feel some kind of pathetic affirmation of some bizarre made up "slight" to their dignity.

Or they are just nasty people writing to provoke oppressive and disparaging opinions.

There are also the usual undertones of "bad parenting" trotted out - irrational or negligent mother.

JESUS.

I can't even. Makes me so despondent.

I came on here also to say that before embarking on a campaign I believe HQ need to look at some of threads which are allowed to stand and also the time taken to intervene on a thread with serious disablism (not that thread another one)which led to some seriously offensive stuff standing for a long time. Sorry.

There was a promise to stand by us all swiftly recently which happened for a short while then things went back to just a cursory message on thread with link to this is my child campaign.

I've given up and am trying to just avoid all dodgy threads since this...

Yes am going to give up too.

Shouldn't have to read the disablist posts but there is always the hide option.

Absolutely yes!!

I think it would be good to get your own house in order before embarking on any new campaigns. Perhaps the list of charity partners could advise on how best to tackle the disablist threads. There seems to be a lot of them about currently

i often think we should give up.......but the the disablist trolls/gf win.
why would you start a thread about a non event like the spa/playground one apart from to troll/goad.
yet mn hq leave them up.
even the other day with a disgusting thread about there being too many disabled people/children on tv, when deleted mn hq put that it was a good debate.
WTF how can you debate that??

Yes absolutely

I think I have changed my mind too.

I think maybe mumsnet needs to concentrate on one small thing.

We are a disparate (and sometimes desperate) collection of people. There are many on here with disabilities (each very different from the other), parents of disabled children, siblings of people with disabilities, parents of adults with disabilities - when a thread pops up which becomes one of those threads, there is no hive mind of opinion one way or the other - there are posters who, 9 times out of 10, I agree with, and I always feel a sense of solidarity with, but we are not 'the mumsnet view' because there are also those who I am out of kilter with, they are also mumsnet. (The people spout disabilist horse manure can just fuck off).

I really think just focus on this 'one small thing' would be the best place to start. I think it should be something that crops up again and again on here, and is something that I think was the original idea behind the This Is My Child campaign, and that is this.

A society is a ramshackle collection of people who have different needs, different opinions, different opportunities, different lives - but we all deserve a voice, we all deserve a place, sometimes that might mean squeezing over a bit, waiting a bit longer, letting someone go first, leaving a space on a bus or a toilet free for those that need it, putting up with someone's noises or movements, or repecting someone's need for space and quiet - we all have to jostle along with each other, that is what makes us a society.

Otherwise what is the point.

That is what I think mumsnet needs to concentrate on - making people aware and pointing out to people that people with disabilities aren't there getting in the way of your life, staring at you in the changing room, or getting upset by being stared at in a toilet, blocking a parking space, taking up a toilet, making noise in a cafe or theatre, struggling to wait for the swing - this is just life.