Hi, Pruni, sorry about the delay, had to go and present a training course.
Well (at risk of making myself unpopular) I remember seeing Alison first on 'Child of our time', her son is just a few months younger than mine, she's about my age. I'm a child of the 'Thalidomide Generation' altho' my disabilities are not of that type, I do have mobility and dexterity problems.
I identified with her quite a lot in those first programmes, like Paris my ds is growing up to be very bright and independent.
As the years have gone on tho' I feel that Alison didn't do the best for her son given their circumstances. I feel that it was a very 'brave' thing for her to have her child in the first place alone, I know I wouldn't have contemplated it had my dh not been committed and caring, I wouldn't have managed at all. And Alison has never seemed to manage to get a settled environment for Paris. He has had a very large number of carers, as Alison admits some for very a short time, and she has carried on with her career, sometimes travelling and leaving him. I read an article somewhere a while ago in which she stated that his was an emotionally unstable background.I just feel that she really should have put his welfare first, and her career second in his formative years, or at least until she could form a close relationship with a long-term nanny to give Paris some stability.
A second factor is that I am not a "militant disabled person" and sometimes feel that Alison's views have been put forward as speaking for the disabled community. But she doesn't speak for me. I recognise that the media is probably very much a conspirator there tho'.
I don't have anything against her personally, and would probably get on with her quite well if we met (similar things to talk about re raising a fit and healthy boy), but disagree with the public face I've seen.