Hi all,
We wanted to clarify about the post mentioning Down's syndrome made by me on the previous thread.
It does seem to have been read as it was not intended and for that, I apologise. We did not infer that any disability is more or less 'worthy'.
Below is the post in full, it was meant specific to a thread talking about labelling:
Just5minswithDacre
Those who do not have any experience, may well have no idea. If the OP had posted to goad or inflame and not a genuine enquiry, it would be different but she asked a question that is not common knowledge for many, she was given a clear answer and she listened.
Shutting down discussion would not be helpful to anyone in this situation.
There's an easy test RebeccaMumsnet for anyone struggling to grasp the very simple and patently easy to grasp fact that Autism is an unchanging disability with a physical cause, and it's this;
Would you say/ask the same about Downs Syndrome?
Would you say/ask the same thing about Visual Impairment?
Would you say/ask the same thing about severe Dyslexia?
NO? Well then it's not acceptable to say it about Autism.
Just not acceptable.
The question in this instance was:
ivyonmywalls
A close friend has informed us that after lots of tests, her son has aspergers and it got me reading about it online. As I've been reading up on it, I've come across adult signs of autism and it appears I have some of the milder traits. A lot of us probably do!
It made me think, that If I had been born now, instead of nearly 50 years ago, I would almost surely have had a label of Aspergers given to me, which I would then have had to live with and carry for the rest of my life.
if I do have it, according to the list it's very mild and hardly noticeable and I think a label would have been more of a hindrance than a help throughout my life.
Obliviously in the majority of cases, a diagnosis can bring lots of much needed help and support and I think that's great.
But what if somebody has a very mild version? Is it right to label them and put them in a 'category'?
Wouldn't that be a burden? Especially if they didn't ask or want to be labelled.
This applies to all labels given to children.
It is not possible to substitute with Down's syndrome in this case as, please do correct me if I am wrong, but Down's syndrome is generally identified and diagnosed in infancy.
You could ask the same about visual impairment and Dyslexia, although not severe as the OP does state But what if somebody has a very mild version?
Your questions are very good barometers to judge by and I will share your post with the team, thank you.
The formatting is incorrect as you can't copy and paste quotes, sadly but for clarity, the italicised copy is that of MNHQ.
We could have been clearer and we apologise that folks have taken it the wrong way. We simply meant that Down's Syndrome could not be used as an example in this specific instance as there isn't a similar diagnostic process and that is what the thread was about.
We are very aware that Autism is a life-long disability, however, this post was specific to the thread and regarding the diagnostic processes and in response to Just5minswithDacre post about testing what we had posted by substituting Autism with other disabilities.
No offence was intended and I apologise if we upset anyone.