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MNHQ

Please come talk to MNHQ about Special Needs topics: better with fewer of them or not?

11 replies

HelenMumsnet · 05/05/2012 11:54

Hello.

We're looking into streamlining/reorganising our Topics list to make it easier for people to find the best topic for their thread, and to make it easier for everyone to find their way around Talk.

And, following on from some of the points raised on this Site stuff thread, we wanted to ask you folks about the range of SN Topics in Talk.

Currently, as you know, we have...
Parents with disabilities
Special needs support sessions
Special needs: children
Special needs: education
Special needs: legal/financial
Special needs: recommendations
Special needs: teens and pre-teens

Do you think it might be a good idea to lose some of these, given that some of them (legal, education, recommendations, in particular) are quite underused?

Would it be better to have fewer topics, so that every OP was more likely to get replies to their threads?

Or do you think the balance of Topics is fine just as it is?

Please do let us know...

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MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 05/05/2012 15:54

This is all good stuff - and v helpful. Thank you. Please keep it coming!

Re Recommendations: any mileage in renaming it Special needs Products? Then we could link to our Reviews here, which could become the ref point you're talking about zzzzz.

Unless Recommendations has a broader scope than just Products?

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 20/05/2012 16:27

OK, folks - thanks for all the suggestions and for the very interesting discussion.

To sum up, it looks like the majority would prefer:

Special needs: parents with disabilities
Special needs: children and young adults
Special needs: education - shared with Special Educational Needs in the Education topic (we'll figure out some way to do that)

With, possibly, also: Special needs: products

Sound about right?

Any mileage in a Special needs: newbies topic?

Or maybe a permanent sticky in Special needs: children and young adults, where we can welcome newbies?

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 20/05/2012 20:08

@2shoesqueenofeverything

oh well, i see no topic for post 16 so will give up

Does children and young adults not cover it, 2shoes?

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 20/05/2012 20:19

@devientenigma

Well thats one down, how many more mn's eliminated to get the balance in SN right. For all those not in the know and want a teen/post 16/post19 section try SK.

Oh dear. We're definitely not in the business of 'eliminating Mumsnetters to get the balance right'.

The idea of reshuffling the topics within SN a bit was purely to make sure people's threads were getting answered.

We interpreted 2shoes and you, devientenigma, as saying no one answers posts in SN teens, so, going by some of the suggestions here, we thought making one SN children and young adults topics would be more inclusive and, hopefully, mean threads started about teens/post-16s do have more chance of being seen - and posted on.

Apols if we've got the wrong end of the stick. But the intention was very much to integrate you MORE, not 'eliminate' you. God forbid.

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/05/2012 10:54

@WetAugust

Which is why I started this thread...

Actually, we at MNHQ started this thread, WetAugust. As part of a general consultation with our users about reorganising the Topics list.

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/05/2012 10:58

@2shoesqueenofeverything

I wish I could get this across , But I seem to fail every time, maybe it is my wording , but will try again. my dd is 17, we are facing 19 plus, it will be the biggest step we have ever made. someone with a 5 year old for instance will not be facing this, they will not know anything about it, anymore than I can now really advise someone with a 5 year old. so I suppose I was looking for a new home, I did hope the teens(sn) topic would work, but sadly it pre teens and teens.(strange that in the nt part of mn these are separate) I just wish there was a topic for people like me with older "children" sorry but I don't like the "oh well they are all children" if that is the case why so many topics on mn as a whole. it could all go in one topic.

We have no problem with a separate SN: young adults topic, 2shoes. We are just trying to gauge whether the majority would prefer fewer topics (with, therefore, a greater chance of most threads being answered) or more topics (with a chance that some topics will be very quiet).

We're Sad and Shock that anyone would think our aim is to exclude.

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/05/2012 11:00

@2shoesqueenofeverything

sorry but I want to talk to people who are going through it, or have been through it, thats all really, I realise it isn't going to happen on the sn topic on mn. I think it is a shame, but mn hq have gone with the majority, fair enough.

;Lougle,
so why is there a teens topic and a pre teens topic in the nt part of mn?

And we haven't 'gone' with anything yet.

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/05/2012 11:40

@zzzzz

Goodness! Shock this has all got very emotional and a little involved.

We can disagree with each other without seeking to exclude or upset.

We can hold totally apposing views and still support and learn.

Whatever the outcome it does not imply that those who supported that idea are more welcome, or have more place here.

I post on sn children, because 2 of my children have sn. I also post on other non sn topics. I don't visit other sn topics and so don't see the need.

For the record my children will be my children (both sn and not) forever, and I will be their mother.

For the record I do not need anyone to candy coat my possible future for me, I am an adult and perfectly capable of not reading threads I find unhelpful.

Helen my advice would be to look at the stats for who is posting where, and see what makes sense. Change is not always a bad thing. I don't envy you at all.......who knew this would be such a huge deal?

Thank you, zzzzz.

We do look at the stats but that is not the basis for our decision-making here (though it might be elsewhere on the boards).

Our main aims are a) to arrange topics in a way that is as inclusive as possible b) to arrange topics in a way that ensures OPs stand the best possible change of getting a timely answer c) to be as welcoming as possible to newbies.

But we don't have to change anything at all.

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/05/2012 11:49

@HotheadPaisan

Helen, can you make SN: Education appear within SN: Children?

Well, only by making it SN: Education and Children.

Is that what folks want?

We were actually wondering about SEN in the Education topic. And trying to make that a shared topic with SN: Education. How would that play, do you think?

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/05/2012 12:15

@HotheadPaisan

It's tricky, SN Active Convos is what we need really!

The simplest way to have an SN Active Convos is to only have one MNSN topic (called Special Needs) and then make it so that the thread titles specify what specific area of Special Needs you're discussing.

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 25/05/2012 12:37

Hello. Just coming back to say thank you - again. And to say that....

  • We will look into the feasibility of having an SN Active Convos - love the idea; we just need to make sure we can make it work.

  • We're thinking of renaming SN Teens - as SN Teens and Young Adults. Anyone violently object?

  • We're still looking at making SN: Education dovetail with Education: Special Educational Needs (ie the topic on the main Education boards). ie one topic that you can access from either MNSN or from Education. To do that, we'd prob have to make the access from Education restricted by the same opt-in as MNSN - ie it wouldn't appear in Active Convos unless you selected the option to make it appear. But we don't think that's a huge issue.... Unless you folks know better!

  • We're still wondering about Special Needs: legal/financial. Happy to keep it if most of you would find it useful - and make use of it.

Do let us know what you think.

And thanks for all your input and patience so far. We know this is all a bit of a headspin...

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