So angry at Waterloo Road's Asperger story line

[Blossomhill]

Oh great so now everyone who knows that my dd has Aspergers will just assume she is weird and throws chairs at people

The way the staff behaved and saying they didn't want to work with a "rainman" Would have been so much nicer if it had been a positive story really. I mean I know there are problems with inclusion but the way they dealt with it was like the girl was an alien!

Whenever AS is in the papers it is usually again another negative story and it is really getting to me. That's probably why I don't always tell people about dd, I don't want them to make judgements based on what they have seen on tv/read in the paper.

I don't know much about aspergers. But thought it was dreadful. I couldn't believe the mother would leave her after one meeting with the head.

It was utterly crap from all sides of the fence.

How many schools of 1000 would be shocked to have their first child with aspergers?

We are a school of 1300 and have around 20 children on the spectrum. And that is without looking at the children with co-morbid conditions like ADHD 'praxia, 'lexia who have a trace of overlap!

It annoys me as well, but I can't comment properly on the storyline as I haven't seen it. I did look it up a few days ago when it was mentioned elsewhere and wondered how much research they'd done into female HFA/Aspergers. I put a reply about it on the other Waterloo thread.
It's hard enough explaining to people that actually I'm rubbish at maths, I'm hopeless with technology and yes, I do like reading fiction.

Exactly mb. Apparently the number of children on the autistic spectrum is 1 in 83 so how on earth did this programme reflect that?
I don't want my daughter to be seen as some kind of freak which is exactly how they have made the gorl look on Waterloo Road

I was really suprised, only watched the first bit but couldnt belive it when the Mum offered to chat with the teachers and he said No etc

Of course the aprent would meet with the teachers and discuss her childs extra needs

I know its a story but they should have done that much much better

Watched this in a state of disbelief - how irresponsible of the programme makers to portray aspergers in this way.

How and who do I complain to? I don't feel they portrayed Aspergers very well at all.

This company produces this programme:-
Shed Media Plc
2 Holford Yard
London
WC1X 9HD

0207 239 1010

i was horrified at the Rainmain comment, thought it was awful and i did wonder what those parents with children who have Aspergers felt about it...it could have been such a more positive story

Thanks Attila ~ I will definitely send a complaint.

Exactly lou my dd is nothing like! I am appalled at the BBC. Mind you I heard the story about the young lad who had a brother with DS wasn't exactly great either I wish they would realise the damage they do with this half thought about programmes.

yes it wasnt portrayed very well, but i thought the actress played a good part,the way she looked at people and spoke, me and dh were smiling at certain points cos he kept saying "you look that way,would say that"

i didnt feel they got their research right as nowadays a child with AS would hopefully not be treated in that way.

Have phoned throughto bbc on 08700 100 222 option 2.

I explained that the story line was unbelievable. That an inner London school would not have ever come across anyone with an asd before. I said that the programme caused more harm than good and that most people without knowledge of AS would just think they threw chairs and were violent.
I also explained that seeing as there are 1 in 83 children on the asd somewhere (figure given to me by Bibic) the story was hardly a portrayl of rl (well I hope not anyway!)

I got the impression that episode was just the beginning of the aspergers storyline, not a one-off. Hopefully, they will examine the issues involved more closely in future episodes, so as not to present a caricature. And for what it's worth, it didn't give me the impression that girls with aspergers are violent - I think the BBC did rather well at portraying most of the teachers as bigotted pr*s who could provoke quite a few otherwise mild mannered children into throwing chairs at them. The girl herself just came across to me as extremely awkward, literal in her interpretation of everything that was said to her and at times rather frightened (a not unreasonable reaction to the environment her mother foolishly left her alone in!).