DEBATE: If your child had a disability....

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Postby SvcDogSawyer » December 2nd, 2010, 4:33 pm

would you tell them? or If you were 12 years old would you want to know why you can't do what the other kids can do?
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Postby TinaMartin » December 2nd, 2010, 5:13 pm

I would tell them what their difference was but not label it as a disability. While its not the same, Kaydra had a really bad problem with food coloring. Any food coloring would cause a reaction. She has been lucky enough to improve with it as she has gotten older but she knows that she has to avoid it. No she can't have candy with pretty colors like the other kids. Unless I make it with natural stuff no cake frosting with colors. It completely changed how I shopped. Cooking from scratch anyone? While Kaydra knows she cant have the same things other kids can she has never seen it as a negative. I dont think I would treat a child with a "disability" any different. I dont treat my sister that way and I dont treat my niece that way (though she would know the difference). My mentality is we are only as disabled as we view ourselves. There is a guy in a wheelchair doing tricks on ramps like a skater hes teaching other kids in wheelchairs to be able to do the same. I know this rambled a bit but I think I made sense.
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Postby iluvk9 » December 2nd, 2010, 5:57 pm

Yes, I would tell them. Yes, at 12 I would want to know why I couldn't do what others can do if it was related to my disability.

First, the type of disability would be a major consideration as to WHEN I would tell my child. Also, my child's cognitive stage would be a factor as to when I explained it to them.

I find it an interesting question, John, as many of the autistic students I work with are on the extreme end of the autism spectrum, and they tell YOU what their disability is and how YOU need to help them handle it. 8) I would imagine Mom and Dad never really had to discuss anything with them in younger years.
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Postby mnp13 » December 2nd, 2010, 8:11 pm

My friend Brennan has CP. His parents gave him the most normal life possible. All the kids in the neighborhood rode bikes, he couldn't because he can't pedal, so his dad bought a riding lawn mower, took the mower deck off and he rode around on that.

It depends SO much on the attitude of the parents in how kids see themselves and their disability. The problem comes when the parents make it an excuse for everything, instead of teaching the child how to fit in and adapt.
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Postby DemoDick » December 2nd, 2010, 8:22 pm

I see the other side of this. A lot of people instill an entitlement mentality in their disabled kids and they grow up assuming that the world owes them everything. If Ray Charles' mother took that tack he never would have achieved what he did.

Disabled kids know they are disabled. Kids are smarter than most adults acknowledge. Just be honest with them and teach them to play the hand they are dealt, but not the sympathy card.

A lot of these "disabilities" are invented. Medicalizing deviance is a great way to control and oppress people who operate differently than the majority. If Leonardo or Van Gogh were born today they would have been put on psych drugs and medicated into "normalcy".

Physical disabilities are a different matter and the only acceptable thing to do is to be honest with the child.

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Postby TheRedQueen » December 2nd, 2010, 11:06 pm

Part of what John is asking...would you take your kid to be *diagnosed* first and foremost, or would you just ignore the warning signs and symptoms.
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Postby mnp13 » December 2nd, 2010, 11:27 pm

Diagnosed. How else can they get the medical and emotional help that they need?
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Postby DemoDick » December 3rd, 2010, 12:54 am

TheRedQueen wrote:Part of what John is asking...would you take your kid to be *diagnosed* first and foremost, or would you just ignore the warning signs and symptoms.


Obviously anyone who does that is being neglectful (and I don't care about religious tolerance toward Christian Scientists or any of that bullshit-this is one of the few cases where government needs to step in and get the kid to the doctor).

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Postby iluvk9 » December 3rd, 2010, 8:22 am

TheRedQueen wrote:Part of what John is asking...would you take your kid to be *diagnosed* first and foremost, or would you just ignore the warning signs and symptoms.


ABSOLUTELY, I would get a diagnosis. Three or four.

But I know from working with parents, many find it difficult to accept the diagnosis. The parents of my Down's students seem to accept it easier, because it's proven genetics. Chromosomes are messed up. It is what it is....When we have parents of students with disabilities such as ADD, OCD, ODD, lower end of autism, etc, they have a hard time (understandably) grasping that it is "real", so to speak. Many won't accept the services provided and years are lost where they could be helped.
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Postby LMM » December 3rd, 2010, 3:09 pm

Diagnosed, no ifs ands or buts about it.
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Postby SvcDogSawyer » December 3rd, 2010, 4:53 pm

DemoDick wrote:I see the other side of this. A lot of people instill an entitlement mentality in their disabled kids and they grow up assuming that the world owes them everything. If Ray Charles' mother took that tack he never would have achieved what he did.

Disabled kids know they are disabled. Kids are smarter than most adults acknowledge. Just be honest with them and teach them to play the hand they are dealt, but not the sympathy card.

A lot of these "disabilities" are invented. Medicalizing deviance is a great way to control and oppress people who operate differently than the majority. If Leonardo or Van Gogh were born today they would have been put on psych drugs and medicated into "normalcy".

Physical disabilities are a different matter and the only acceptable thing to do is to be honest with the child.

Demo Dick


Thank you. That was very well said.
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Postby SvcDogSawyer » December 3rd, 2010, 4:55 pm

DemoDick wrote:
TheRedQueen wrote:Part of what John is asking...would you take your kid to be *diagnosed* first and foremost, or would you just ignore the warning signs and symptoms.


Obviously anyone who does that is being neglectful (and I don't care about religious tolerance toward Christian Scientists or any of that bullshit-this is one of the few cases where government needs to step in and get the kid to the doctor).

Demo Dick


Dude...you're on a roll. 8)
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Postby Leslie H » December 6th, 2010, 10:14 pm

I teach kids w/behavioral issues, most have learning disabilities as well. By 14-15 years old (which is way different than 12), I work w/my students on knowing what their weaknesses are, and using the strategies that are most helpful to them. So, kids in my class might ask me depict something graphically on the board, rather than explaining it orally. I also hold them responsible for using the strategies they've learned. But prior to this, it's my job to help them see that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and that we are not defined by our weaknesses. Kids tend to see only their shortcomings. So, it's important to make clear and overt what other people struggle w/. My class knows I can't catch to save my life, and I don't know my 6,7 and 8 multiplication tables. As they come to realize that other people they respect also have limitations, they start thinking in broader terms, and see themselves in a more positive light.
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Postby Patch O' Pits » December 16th, 2010, 7:55 pm

Leslie H wrote:I teach kids w/behavioral issues, most have learning disabilities as well. By 14-15 years old (which is way different than 12), I work w/my students on knowing what their weaknesses are, and using the strategies that are most helpful to them. So, kids in my class might ask me depict something graphically on the board, rather than explaining it orally. I also hold them responsible for using the strategies they've learned. But prior to this, it's my job to help them see that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and that we are not defined by our weaknesses. Kids tend to see only their shortcomings. So, it's important to make clear and overt what other people struggle w/. My class knows I can't catch to save my life, and I don't know my 6,7 and 8 multiplication tables. As they come to realize that other people they respect also have limitations, they start thinking in broader terms, and see themselves in a more positive light.


Great post Leslie!!!!
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Postby TheRedQueen » December 16th, 2010, 8:48 pm

The child in this case has a progressive, non-curable, physical disability...he's now 12 years old, and has no idea that he has an issue...and his mother refuses to get him tested.
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Postby FAB dogs » December 16th, 2010, 9:47 pm

Is there a chance the child already knows or suspects the situation? With the internet at your fingertips, you can learn a lot about causes for every little thing happening to you or your body; and kids are even more tech savvy than most adults. It can be a little daunting, especially for a hypochondriac. :)

Seriously, though, a lot of self diagnosing can be done online. And it can be distressing to find out some of these things online rather than from family or a physician. You can also make yourself crazy wondering if you do or don't have a condition based on self diagnosis online. I've been through this myself as an adult looking up childhood conditions online and learning a lot of what's wrong with me by reading it online. Some of which was very hard to learn and accept. Then, as an adult, contacting a doctor to confirm my self diagnosis and having the doctor be surprised that I wasn't informed of these things as a child/teen. I can only imagine what it would be like to be a kid wondering what, if anything, was wrong with me and not having anyone to turn to.

I highly recommend watching an episode of Home Improvement called The Longest Day. One of the kids goes to the doctor for a physical and they end up taking blood because they think he may have cancer. The parents don't tell him about it but he senses something is wrong and looks it up online. He becomes very upset that his parents didn't tell him about it, even though their defense was they didn't want to worry him until they had the test results back.

I guess what I'm getting at is that it's unfair (almost criminal, IMO) to keep a kid in the dark about something that is going to affect them for their lifetime. Particularly if there's a chance of getting the kid help or maybe even slowing the progress of the disease if he knows about it early on. It can lead to some very hard feelings towards the parent when the child does find out; which is bound to happen eventually.
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Postby TheRedQueen » December 16th, 2010, 11:32 pm

To clear things up more...this is John's nephew. John has MD, and his sister is a carrier (so are John's daughters...and the older one knows this). His sister had a 50-50 chance of having a son with MD. She had two sons: one son does not show outward signs of having MD, but the younger son does. He has all of the signs and symptoms that John had/has...but is more advanced than John was at his age. His sister has said that she will NOT get her kids tested...she doesn't want them to be labeled...like "those people". Yes, she said that to her disabled brother. :nono:
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Postby TinaMartin » December 17th, 2010, 1:21 pm

I have to say I have a problem with that kind of attitude.
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Postby mnp13 » December 17th, 2010, 3:10 pm

And so in the mean time, he is forced to do things that cause him pain - like gym class and recess? In my opinion that is criminal.
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Postby BullyLady » December 19th, 2010, 5:16 pm

mnp13 wrote:In my opinion that is criminal.


I agree.
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