Could we have a disability board?

[Hazelnut5]

I know there are loads of us on here with disabilities, but there’s currently nowhere obvious to post about it.

There are lots of threads scattered across the topics: issues like applying for PIP, grants, mobility scooters, working / parenting with a disability, where to buy incontinence pads, frustrations, etc etc. But without a clear place to post, the threads tend to get lost amongst all the other concerns. That also makes it very hard to build any kind of community among the disabled users.

There’s a special needs board but that seems to be used mainly for threads about autism and ADHD. It would never occur to me to look there for threads about disability.

Lots of people with disabilities really struggle in their lives and can feel very isolated when everyone else seems to be getting along fine in their able-bodied worlds. I think a disability board could really address our isolation and make a positive difference to our lives.

Carer, obviously!

This would be such a helpful board. I feel like unless I'm discussing a particular issue I'm a bit lost on the main boards sometimes.

Morning, everyone! Just a bit of an interim update for you. Thanks for your patience on this. It does sounds like a great idea, but we have a bit of tidying up to do of our current topics first before we introduce any new ones.

So we've added the idea to our list for suggested new boards - we're looking at tidying up some topics first and then looking at which of those new boards can definitely go in. We'll update you on what's been decided as soon as we can. Do keep putting any ideas for names, how you'd see it working etc here and we'll keep reading and making notes.

Thanks for the update MNHQ. That’s good to know.

Just posting to ensure this request does not get lost.
I see you have tidied up the SN boards. Any progress on a disability board?

Bumping this to find out if you made a decision.

Hi Mumsnet. Any more progress on this? It’s nearly 3 months since the last update.

Hi Mumsnet.

Just seen there’s now a topic under Special Needs called Mumsnetters with disabilities. Only on my phone it reads as ‘Mumsnetters wit… ‘ because the title is too long to display.

This doesn’t meet my needs, or I suspect many of the other people on this thread:

1. because it’s in the Special Needs board which is a topic I don’t look at (there’s lots of discussion on this thread about that; the term Special Needs is owned mainly by the neurodiverse community),

2. because the title is too long so many people won’t see the word disabilities.

The new topic is of no use if other people can’t find it!

Please could you think again?

@Blowingagale

I’d support this as I do feel that SN and disability are different. I have cerebral palsy and other disabilities but adult so no educational needs, not “ill” as such but impacted in most aspects of life - work, health, exercise/fitness, housework and cooking, travel. I have SN but the adult section really doesn’t cover the things I’ve just described.

Exactly this.

@Hazelnut5

Hi Mumsnet.

Just seen there’s now a topic under Special Needs called Mumsnetters with disabilities. Only on my phone it reads as ‘Mumsnetters wit… ‘ because the title is too long to display.

This doesn’t meet my needs, or I suspect many of the other people on this thread:

1. because it’s in the Special Needs board which is a topic I don’t look at (there’s lots of discussion on this thread about that; the term Special Needs is owned mainly by the neurodiverse community),

2. because the title is too long so many people won’t see the word disabilities.

The new topic is of no use if other people can’t find it!

Please could you think again?

Maybe put this on the topic Mumsnet site stuff?

I agree, but if it's just for mumsnetters with disabilities, what about children and teens with physical disabilities, wheelchair users, cerebral palsy children and adults? There are a lot of them too and special needs is virtually all neurodiverse disabilities without significant physical issues. There is no where for me to get help with my sons disabilities

Maybe put this on the topic Mumsnet site stuff?

This thread is in Site stuff.

Hi, OP.

Thanks for getting back to us with your feedback - we've made a note of the points you have raised and will be discussing them at MNHQ.

For those asking about where to find help for their children/teens with physical disabilities, we hope that you can find some support on our talk board here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs

Another vote here. Would be very beneficial

[quote KimMumsnet]For those asking about where to find help for their children/teens with physical disabilities, we hope that you can find some support on our talk board here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs[/quote]
It's very rare to have a thread about physical disability as it 99% autistic spectrum conditions which are discussed. I have a disabled child and never post there as the tumbleweeds roll over it. No one ever answers and I occasionally see other threads with very few replies.

At one time there was a dedicated cerebral palsy thread that was quite long running, but that eventually petered out too.

Not saying a physically disabled children's section would get much interest (simply don't know) but it would be worth running one for a year, after all there are a lot of topics with very little interest on MN.

I use Facebook anyway for all my support but it was just a thought.

How about calling it ‘Disabled Mumsnetters’ instead of ‘Mumsnetters with disabilities’? That would get around the problem of the name being truncated on some devices.

Also I’ve now seen on another thread that you’re changing the name of the board to Special Needs & Disabilities. That works for me.