Article in Guardian about SN - 'When Normal Rules don't Apply'

[chonky]

Lucy Mangan's column

Gooda rticle- whether you agree or not (thee is a mixed bag on here iirc) its wellw ritten, and thqat staring / comments attitude is experienced by so many of us sadly.

Thansk for posting the link

Agree peachy. I really honestly don't know how I feel about the hysterectomy debate (it's very unlike me not to have an opinion on something!), but the comments about being stared at whilst out and about really hit home for me.

Good article and I love her 'piss off you interfering cretin'. Will use that one

DD (severeCP) can't drink out of a cup so we use a bottle. When she was under 3 we got the 'that awful mother should be breastfeeding' comments. Now she is over 3 its 'that child is too old for a bottle.'

Argh

Yes, I will also be saving the 'piss off you interfering cretin' for future use

there were a couple of incidents s aw today that amde me think the cretins were out in force in newport today- one family eft Wetherspoons and their freshly delivered meals because a family with a girl with Downs sat behind them and she made a few noises as theyc ame in; then a family with a child (5 or so) in a major Buggy passed us by when we were walking abck, with some dense cow pushing a pram behind them yelling to her Mother (i guess) 'look at the size of the child in that buggy!'

perhaps we should print the cretin remark out on a handy tips leaflet and pass it out to needy Sn famillies when we witness the genuine prats?

Oh God, I've had that twice in the past fortnight Peachy. First incident - random lady commenting 'she's a big child' 3 (yes, really, 3) times regarding dd in her buggy. Then I had a comment last week from someone moaning about the inconvenience of dd's buggy being in a cafe - apparently it's ridiculous how big they make buggies these days

See, we're l;ucky enough not to have the buggy- but we still get nappy comments even from professionals- 'have you considered potty training yet'- Look you F**r, we have three children, the toehr 2 were potty trained by 3 / 3.5, do you think this is pur idea of FUN, and then the looks with the reins... PMSL. I will people to say it to my face but I am clearly far too scary! And honestly, we were watching a carnival with a few thousand others last time we had reins looks- surely ANY 4 year old child would be safer from a float weighing 54 tonnes in a crowd? yet its me that gets the looks, while other parents let their kids play in the road (I was seething at the parents allowing them in the road- as a Marshall myself at other carnivals, and a former road crew member for a club, I know how much danger there is... DH's mate ws killed by one but hey lets let our kids run between them and give the woman with the reisn evils.... )

Oops rant LOL

DD was in a wheelchair by 2 so we don't get the buggy comments, just parents hushing their kids away from us in case its catching.
Peachy, I'm speechless at a family leaving their meals becaise there was a child with Down's syndrome in there. They need a god slapping.
I havebeen told I shouldn't be out with a child like dd and her inconvenient wheelchair or 'are't I brave' taking her outside.
Some days I want to scream 'Brain damage can happen to anyone you wankers, at any time so quit staring' rant rant rant
And don't get me started about taking dd into Mothercare and practically clearing the place cos Mothercare is for soft-focus normal babies and toddlers where bad things like dd don't happen.
rant mumble mutter

Just crossed my mind that we could get free meals . I'll take dd into a restaurant and sit next to someone. She'll start drooling and making CP noises as their meal arrives. They'll be horrified and leave. Hey Presto, free dinner.
Maybe enmasse SN day at the Ritz

PMSL NMC

I ahd 20 PTA mums tround the otehr day, with ds3 here- a couple stared at him and asked 'r whats wrog with him'- cue long discussion about how we're not sure because originally was supposed to be ASD, but now SALT suggesting SLI but then that doesn't cover hsi otehr delays..... - a captive audience

A shocked audience I bet.
So when you coming to see me?

As soon as ic an persuade Dh to drive I think- will start with the intense pressure ASAP! (he's been off weekends alst few weks, starts to get weekdays off again now- trust me, you dont want us en masse LOL!)

DS1 is being an Angel atm so may even feel confident enough to bring him.....

Some days I'm brave enough to front the cretins, others not.

I still smile at the horrifed/mortified expression of a man who said to DS, "you're a big fella to be in a buggy, you should be walking" (he was only 2 at the time and quite small for his age, so I'm a little confused)

To which I put on my sweetest smile and pollyanna voice and said, "He is isn't he. Sadly he has a rare genetic disorder that means he probably won't ever walk or talk."

You could have fried an egg on the mans face, he couldn't apologise enough - but I bet he was a little more thoughtful in future.

PMSL @ some of the comments and stories in this thread.

Having a child with special needs can have it's advantages, one of them I find is not having to queue to use rides in playgrounds because one excited scream from my son sends all the kids running!

Message withdrawn

When my ds was five he had a paddy in a supermarket, an oldish lady cam beetling up and said that my ds needed a good smack on his backside to which i replied that the old lady needed to learn to mind her own business, i left her mouthing like a goldfish outta water!!