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Son not invited to cousin's wedding but his brother is

466 replies

Aprilcherry04 · 28/02/2022 23:41

My nephew is getting married in a few months time. I was chatting to my sister earlier and she was talking about the wedding and she was telling me that the invites would be out soon. She said of course myself and my husband would be and my eldest son and partner would be evening guests but my youngest son (age 20)who has learning disabilities would not as her son and his fiancée have concerns that my DS2 would behave inappropriately. I explained to her that I would have no one to look after DS2 and she said perhaps my DS1 would look after him to allow me to attend. I would feel bad asking my elder to miss out on the evening party so wouldn't do that. I feel very upset for my DS2 and feel ostracised by my own family. I have cried solidly for 3 hours. DH has stated that we will just politely decline the invitation. My sister seemed surprised that I was hurt but my DS2 is the only one of the cousins not invited. I understand that it is up to the couple who they want to invite but I am still valid in feeling upset. If my own family cannot accept my son's limitations then how can I expect the rest of society to do so.

OP posts:
ineedsun · 04/03/2022 08:59

You couldn’t be further from the truth in thinking that I ‘take the view that all DS people are homogenous and innocent and harmless.’ I worked with offenders with LD for years and know that there are some very dangerous people out there who happen to have an LD, I have also worked in non secure settings, have family with LD and am a trustee for a large charity for people with LD. Of course they’re not a homogenous, innocent, harmless group (perhaps that’s your assumptions about other posters influencing your responses?), however there is nothing in the OPs posts to suggest that there is any risk in her sons behaviour. When he was younger, in a similar situation (I take your point about how I and others are misquoting the OP), he got a bit giddy and it was managed. There’s no suggestion (and no reason to assume) that he is a risk to females just because he’s older.

Suggesting that people have shameful attitudes towards women because they’re not leaping to conclusions and are taking the facts as they’re presented rather than assume the OP is lying is very odd. It seems like you’re tying yourself in knots to deny that people with LD can be treated poorly which is odd if you have the level of experience of DS that you say you have.

Migrainesbythedozen · 04/03/2022 09:11

@ineedsun

You couldn’t be further from the truth in thinking that I ‘take the view that all DS people are homogenous and innocent and harmless.’ I worked with offenders with LD for years and know that there are some very dangerous people out there who happen to have an LD, I have also worked in non secure settings, have family with LD and am a trustee for a large charity for people with LD. Of course they’re not a homogenous, innocent, harmless group (perhaps that’s your assumptions about other posters influencing your responses?), however there is nothing in the OPs posts to suggest that there is any risk in her sons behaviour. When he was younger, in a similar situation (I take your point about how I and others are misquoting the OP), he got a bit giddy and it was managed. There’s no suggestion (and no reason to assume) that he is a risk to females just because he’s older.

Suggesting that people have shameful attitudes towards women because they’re not leaping to conclusions and are taking the facts as they’re presented rather than assume the OP is lying is very odd. It seems like you’re tying yourself in knots to deny that people with LD can be treated poorly which is odd if you have the level of experience of DS that you say you have.

Again I am going on what the sister and the cousin are saying. They (or the cousin) seems to be very close to OP's son, so clearly they know him very well. I don't think the cousin would have a very close relationship with OP's son and then be ashamed of him and not invite him to the wedding.

What I am saying is that there is more to this than the OP either acknowledges or even possibly knows herself (perhaps because cousin/sister didn't want to upset her or tell her about something he did, but now the wedding is coming up they can't really avoid it, if you know what I mean).

I know people with disabilities are treated poorly. However you seem to be using that as an excuse I feel, to castigate the cousin/sister. That because the son has an LD, therefore he isn't capable of harassment, that the cousin (who clearly knows the son very well so obviously knows his behaviour and ability better than us) is being unfair excluding him. Just because he had an LD and disability. That people with disabilities and LDs are treated poorly, again, is not justification to treat them as an homogenous group who aren't capable of harassment. Because people with LDs and other disabilities are treated poorly, does not mean OP's son hasn't harassed or made other women uncomfortable. It doesn't negate the other. My issue is I feel that you are saying that because he has LD, he is not capable of harassment and he should be given a pass. Because he has LD. That's what I mean by you treating them all homogenously. Having a disability and even LD does not mean he isn't capable of harassing women. The cousin, who is 'very close' to OP's son, clearly knows something we, and perhaps the OP, doesn't. He wouldn't excuse his cousin, the OP's son, lightly, if they are that close.

Migrainesbythedozen · 04/03/2022 09:19

At the risk of posting again and hogging the thread, I just want to say I think people are getting me wrong. I would never exclude a person who has DS. Or any other LD or physically disability. But, I also see people as apart from their disability and don't feel a disability is an excuse for harassing behaviour. I would take it all on a case by case basis, but I don't take the 'he has an LD so sister and cousin are being unfair' stance. People with a Learning Disability or DS are as capable as anyone else of harassment. The cousin/sister, being close to the son, clearly know him very well, and have made their decision based on their knowledge and experience of him. They would not have made this decision lightly at all.

ILoveYou3000 · 04/03/2022 09:32

@Migrainesbythedozen

At the risk of posting again and hogging the thread, I just want to say I think people are getting me wrong. I would never exclude a person who has DS. Or any other LD or physically disability. But, I also see people as apart from their disability and don't feel a disability is an excuse for harassing behaviour. I would take it all on a case by case basis, but I don't take the 'he has an LD so sister and cousin are being unfair' stance. People with a Learning Disability or DS are as capable as anyone else of harassment. The cousin/sister, being close to the son, clearly know him very well, and have made their decision based on their knowledge and experience of him. They would not have made this decision lightly at all.
Where has the OP said her son is 'very close' to his cousin? She's said he knows him very well. I know my brother very well, we're not 'very close'.

Why are you so insistent the OP is lying? She's been very open about her son's behaviour and has explained things a number of times. The sister/cousin have not seen the OP's son in a social setting like a wedding since he was a young teenager so how are they able to judge? How would they know something the OP doesn't?

It is very possible the bride is the one who doesn't want OP's son there and the cousin is going along with it to make his bride happy, at the expense of his 'very close' relationship. Why you'd want to marry someone so cold and callous to a beloved family member god only knows. More fool him.

ineedsun · 04/03/2022 09:55

I don’t think you can have read the post that you quoted @Migrainesbythedozen because you’re sticking to a narrative that simply isn’t true and I’ve explained why in the post that you quoted

LosingTheWill2022 · 04/03/2022 10:23

@Migrainesbythedozen
don't feel a disability is an excuse for harassing behaviour
The cousin/sister, being close to the son, clearly know him very well, and have made their decision based on their knowledge and experience of him. They would not have made this decision lightly at all
How on earth can you know that? There is nothing in what OP has said that indicates "harassing behaviour"

That sad reality is that too many feel uncomfortable by behaviour from someone with a LD that they would tolerate from a NT person. They can't cope with differences in manner, look presentational etc. That's prejudice and discrimination pure and simple.

ineedsun · 04/03/2022 10:32

Absolutely, I remember being on a busy bus once and everyone was doing that thing where they avoid eye contact, when a chap with a learning disability got on and tried to talk to a couple of people who were clearly uncomfortable (and frankly bloody rude), but he’d done nothing wrong at all. In fact a pregnant woman got on when there was standing room only and he was the only one to offer her a seat.

He was the only person who was polite, sociable, considerate and kind and yet people felt uncomfortable because they’d rather not speak to someone with a learning disability. Maybe he shouldn’t have tried to talk to people in case they felt uncomfortable because now he’s labelled as the one with the problem.

MargotEmin · 04/03/2022 12:03

People on here think the cousin is harmless because he has Down Syndrome. They ignorantly assume all with DS are a homogenous group and harmless.

What a fucking presumptuous, steaming pile of dogshit. So those of us who have grown up with learning disabled siblings (of which there are plenty on this thread), who have fought every day of our lives for people to see the uniqueness and individuality of our brothers and sisters - we are the ignorant ones who think all people with Downs are fluffy, cute innocents? Nobody knows better than us the diverse and entirely human range of emotions and behaviours that people with LD can and do exhibit - there is a reason that OP's story resonates with us and rings entirely true and plausible and its NOT because we are ignorant idiots who consider people with LD to be one homogenous group.

I can't understand why you're doing such clear mental gymnastics to convince yourself there must be more to this story, when you have the testimony of a mild mannered, people pleasing OP right in front of you and a shitload of posters with similar lived experience all going 'yeah, we hear you, that resontes'.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 04/03/2022 12:09

"It is very possible the bride is the one who doesn't want OP's son there and the cousin is going along with it to make his bride happy, at the expense of his 'very close' relationship..."

It's a good point.

Not at all the same thing, but my family were excluded from a family member's wedding, after being invited by the father of the groom, because the bride decided that all the groom's family were too non-U or something (she came from a very wealthy background and we didn't). Anyway, she didn't want a bunch of poor relations showing up and showing her up at her wedding, so we were uninvited. Nice! Hmm

But at least in our case the father of the groom was mortified by it! The OP's sister apparently can't understand why the OP would be upset, which says an awful lot more about the OP's sister than anyone else.

pollyhemlock · 04/03/2022 13:11

Our youngest DD, in her early 30s, has DS, autism, severe learning disabilities and some challenging behaviour. Unlike OP’s son she’s not keen on big social events. However, it would not occur to close family members not to invite her. They would leave it to us to decide whether she would cope with the event, and what support she needed. Like OP, after many years of doing it we are the experts on her behaviour and how to manage it so that she can enjoy life. Of course OP’s son should have had an invitation. I find it extraordinary that anyone should think otherwise. OP and her DH would have ensured that all went well. Oh, and for those who are suggesting that they could have found a carer to look after him for the day: do you actually know how difficult this is?

Bromse · 04/03/2022 13:54

I sincerely hope that by now you have decided to turn down the invitation for the whole family, Aprilcherry.

Aprilcherry04 · 04/03/2022 23:36

Thank you for all your support. I am under no illusion that just because DS2 has DS that he is 'an angel' and I am aware that he has sexual urges like other young men his age. Trying to straddle this is a minefield that we as a family are dealing with all the time. This is not the issue here though. I am very careful to make sure that his relations with young women never get the chance to become sexual. I'm not saying that he doesn't feel that way ( can any of us say that about any of our 20 year old sons) but that's why he's closely supervised. He has not sexually harassed anyone. As for saying to girls that he loves them he doesn't fully understand what he means. If I hear him say that about someone I ALWAYS correct him and say he doesn't know them so therefore can't love them. He actually just means that he likes them. Also the suggestion that I think its OK to apply unwanted advances on anyone appalls me as I was a victim of an attempted sexual assault by an older male at work as a teenager. As I have said in previous posts I don't know how he can learn appropriate behaviour unless he can interact in society.

OP posts:
whynotwhatknot · 09/03/2022 18:15

Is there any update op

Aprilcherry04 · 09/03/2022 18:48

No I haven't spoken to dsis and I think she's avoiding me. Just waiting on the invitation to arrive.

OP posts:
PiperPosey · 09/03/2022 20:08

@Aprilcherry04

No I haven't spoken to dsis and I think she's avoiding me. Just waiting on the invitation to arrive.
Make sure you let us know April.. Also I'm sorry that you have to read many UNKIND and ignorant post on your thread. It's got to be heartbreaking for you...Some people just don't understand, but you've made it very clear about your son's behavior, your supervising him and intervening when necessary. Flowers
fffffeeeedddduupp · 19/04/2022 04:58

@Aprilcherry04
Hi just wondered what happened? Did the invites come out?

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