>conditions such as anxiety, as well as an autism diagnosis, had gone from something “people should work on themselves as individuals” to “something that society, schools, and employers have to adapt around”
Yes, these kids with autism and anxiety have it too easy, we need to remove the little support schools give them and let them cope with it on their own! What a horrible woman.
ZakalweTheChairmaker on
>A spokesperson for Badenoch told the I that it was “wrong to infer any prejudice”…
The use of “infer” here essentially makes this analogous to “I’m sorry you feel that way…” without the apology part. This is despite Badenoch and the people responsible for this thing making the very fundamental error of mistaking autism for a mental health problem (which in the eyes of people like right-wing Tories would make it a personal failing rather than a genuine health issue).
But beyond that, I’m fascinated and vaguely depressed at this latest illustration that people like this see life as a zero sum game. I mean, we can’t have the plebs getting anything that “offers economic advantages and protections” (as if having significant mental health or neurodevelopmental disorders somehow means the sufferers have won in life) since that’s reserved for the monied elite, politicians and their friends, don’t you know dear boy?
RichmondOfTroy on
What a disgusting cunt. No doubt Reform voters agree with her though so it’ll play to them well.
ThouShallConform on
Honestly we need to have an open conversation about this stuff.
I grew up with a family member who has Asperger’s. Now included in the autism spectrum. I know what this condition can do to people and I know it’s real.
I also have two kids and see countless examples of children being called autistic who I would describe as naughty and being allowed to get away with it.
Only two days ago at my toddlers football training I was shouted at for telling a parent to stop his child running the wrong way along a balance beam. (This kid was supposed to be on a totally different piece of equipment at this point)
As he was scaring my son and could knock him off.
He shouted “HES EXTREMELY AUTISTIC ACTUALLY”
I told him I don’t care and he needs to watch his child because he is going to knock my son off this beam.
I’ve watched this kid for weeks. He misbehaves constantly and his dad and mum never say anything. He is a toddler. He was standing on the bench whilst the teacher was talking. Stamping his feet to make noise so no one could hear the teacher.
He kept looking back to his dad with a cheeky little face. He knew it was wrong to do. But his parents allow it. And he carries on.
There are countless examples of this I’ve seen throughout my time taking my kids to clubs and schools. Autism is real. But way too many shit parents are using it as an excuse to not parent their children.
They never set any boundaries for their kid. Give them coke and chips for dinner every night. Then turn around and say “well he will only eat chips and drink coke because he’s autistic”
No he isn’t. He has no boundaries and you are making him act that way.
Marcuse0 on
I love how Conservatives see a world absolutely stacked against autistic people and think that measures to not make them go absolutely insane with worry are “economic advantages”.
I’m a big believer in working through your deficits as much as possible, but there’s no point in refusing to adapt to how people think, feel, and are.
merryman1 on
As an autistic man who’s experience of trying to get a little bit of help in this country has been effectively just going round in circles for the last 5 years being told by every single service that they can’t offer any support at all, its a surprise to hear that I’m actually being advantaged somehow.
PabloMarmite on
My job for the last few years has basically been challenging schools and local authorities for not doing the bare minimum to support autistic pupils – it certainly doesn’t feel like anyone’s in an “advantageous” position, quite the opposite.
Random_Reddit_bloke on
It’s a tough one. I was a primary school teacher for twenty years and used to think that some children were simply the product of their parents not setting enough boundaries; after a time, it became glaringly obvious that some children’s neurodiversity simply presents in different ways.
One autistic child may enjoy the sensory response they get from stroking something soft, another might get it from the reactions he or she illicits when doing something you might view as “naughty”. I’m not sure how you know he has chips and coke for dinner every night, but this may be because his neurodivergence results in seeking the comfort and reassurance of familiarity- he could be having the same healthy salad every night- the point is the same. Some parents who have autistic children may have sought more advice and developed better strategies to support their children, others may find it incredibly difficult and need more support and education about their child’s condition from schools and mental health professionals. It sounds like the parents you describe fall into the latter, and perhaps this is a failing of those institutions.
Grayson81 on
> “We’re treating disabled people too well in this country”
They should stick that on the side of their bus.
Clbull on
As someone with Asperger’s myself, all I can really say to Badenoch in response is…
.!.. (-_-) ..!.
AssumptionClear2721 on
As someone who’s brother has autism, I find it unbelievable how they could get it so wrong about autism. Evidently nobody took a minute to fact check the pamphlet. Or more likely, they didn’t want to, as their opinion and feelings matter more than fact. They’d probably get hurt in knowing the truth.
Badenoch and her team can fuck off. I think a career as an irrelevant talking head on GBNews is far more suitable to her abilities, than becoming leader of a political party.
0Neverland0 on
For conservatism to work there need to be outgroups that conservatives can demonise against the ‘true volk’ of Britain.
In the time of Enoch Powell people like Kemi Badenoch’s parents were the outgroup who could be demonised.
In the time of Margaret Thatcher it was trade unionists.
In the time of David Cameron it was ‘skivers’ whatever that meant.
In the time of Kemi Badenoch it’s pregnant women and the mentally ill.
0Neverland0 on
It would only take about two dozen moderate one nation tories to defect to the liberal democrats for them to become the official opposition
limaconnect77 on
‘Enoch Powell’ for the modern age – hasn’t yet pulled a “Rivers of Blood”, but one can see the clear intent in all of this nonsense.
Random_Reddit_bloke on
As a former teacher, I was once told by a colleague who I learnt a great deal from that “a classroom that works for an autistic child works for the whole class.” I reckon you could expand this to society at large.
Badenoch hasn’t got a clue.
Real-Fortune9041 on
It’s an unpopular take but I do think a diagnosis is also a label which can be unhelpful. And I do think it’s overdiagnosed, despite people claiming they’re struggling to get a diagnosis for themselves.
In fact, people’s determination to receive a diagnosis goes some way to explaining why it may be overdiagnosed.
I’m probably on the spectrum in some way. I know i fit a lot of the criteria and as a brainy kid at school who was a late-talker, I reckon if I were a child today I would be diagnosed easily. But it wasn’t ubiquitous back then and I wasn’t. I’m now an adult with a fairly standard life.
I can’t help but feel a diagnosis would have made my life harder.
Boustrophaedon on
Now, can I just say that some of my best friends are normies, but we do need to have a serious, responsible discussion about the alarming impact _some_ (and I mean some – there are plenty of “good ones”!) neurotypical people have on society at large – walking around with their faces, flapping their mouths, saying cosmically dumb sh1t…
nearlyFried on
>It added that an autism diagnosis in the workforce came with better employment protections against unfair dismissal and a requirement for workplaces to make reasonable adjustments.
>The Buckland review found that at least 700,000 autistic people were economically inactive because of the barriers they faced in finding work.
Autistic people can barely even get jobs. Being rejected on countless occassions due to “cultural fit” is hardly a privilege.
Dangerous-Branch-749 on
Autistic people, soon to be mother’s on maternity leave, which group will be vilified next?
[deleted] on
[deleted]
indianajoes on
How the fuck is Badenoch the best they can get? I don’t agree with her transphobia but it’s not really shocking coming from them. But you’re saying people with autism should work on themselves instead of places adapting for them. Do these cunts think that people in wheelchairs should also work on themselves instead of places adapting for them?
Psephological on
Yeah having GAD the ability to gain the occasional accomodation with things like uni exams or job interviews has been welcome. And I’m not as reliant on it as some.
So as per, fuck Bad Enoch, fuck Jenprick, fuck the Tory party and fuck anyone who supports this horse apples.
AntonMcTeer on
This just makes me even more confident in my belief that a Britain without the Tories and anyone who wishes to emulate them would be a much better place. They are not human, they are vile, hate filled monsters who feed on the lifeblood of anything worthwhile. While they exist even as out of favour opposition we’re all vulnerable to them wrecking everything.
Lucie-Solotraveller on
I’m confused about this. I am autistic and I have a full time job and pay a lot of tax and get FUCK ALL from the government. So what exactly is it I get more than other people?
If I came on a boat and threw my passport into the sea I would get paid accommodation and access health care I can’t even access. Not trying to stir a debate about illegal migration here so please don’t start I am just making a point this woman knows nothing about how this country even operates and who is entitled to what.
DM_me_goth_tiddies on
A shame, the whole pamphlet is interesting. IMO she does a really good job identifying a new class of people. A bureaucratic class indeed. I doubt there will be any discussion of it outside of this pull quote, which is disappointing.
Mba1956 on
She just doesn’t know anything about people which means she isn’t fit to be a leader of any political party. MPs should realise that they are meant to be representing the people.
Visible-Door6557 on
Yes. Pay for me to go to university, get a PHD and years of funding for me to learn how to hack my DNA and do complex surgery on my own brain to restructure it to get rid of my autism.
Oh. You mean pretend and act in a way that my brain isn’t designed to facilitate, completely against my nature? Leading to exhaustion, identity crisis after crisis, painful over stimulation and meltdowns?
The neurotypical world is not built for me. I will always act ‘quirky’ or ‘odd’ like I’m a foreigner and not a native, because it’s not designed for people with my thought structures, patterns and sensitivies. The least people can do is see that I’m trying to cope in that world as best as I can without feeling overwhelmed.
Instead of shoe-horning me into roles with expectations for neurotypical people, why not understand what I need to thrive and contribute in the work place instead of forcing me to drown in a world of expectations, unwritten rules, loud offices and talking to people all day?
Let me design the systems of the future, see patterns in your business and create the next generation of computers. Are you seriously going to get caught up in the little things like not giving you eye contact when I say hello or wearing ear defenders because the noises of people, phones and traffic are too loud for me to think? That’s like grading a goldfish on their ability to climb ladders instead of swimming. Sadly Kemi thinks it’s a one size fits all system. In her vision, silicone valley wouldn’t exist.
genjin on
The frequency, the tone of these articles bashing Badenoch, appeal to the paper’s readership and by the look of the comments, the subscribers of Reddit. I would expect it will have the effect of noise on the electorate who waiver between party affiliation. It could have focused on providing a substantive counter argument against the pamphlet, It doesn’t. It focuses on rubbishisng Badenoch with little more than vague ad hominem.
Take this supposedly damning line “(diagnosis) offers economic advantages and protections”. If I were trying to convince someone on the spectrum to seek out a diagnosis, I might say this as a justification of the effort and time spent getting that diagnosis, its not controversial or stigmatising. Perhaps its untrue, if it is untrue, the paper does not bother to say so. So the response might be, “but its the context”. The only context, given in the article, is the fact its Badenoch saying it. Thats a tautology, Badenoch is bad cos what she says, what she says is bad because Badenoch said it. It’s garbage. This paper is garbage.
28 Comments
>conditions such as anxiety, as well as an autism diagnosis, had gone from something “people should work on themselves as individuals” to “something that society, schools, and employers have to adapt around”
Yes, these kids with autism and anxiety have it too easy, we need to remove the little support schools give them and let them cope with it on their own! What a horrible woman.
>A spokesperson for Badenoch told the I that it was “wrong to infer any prejudice”…
The use of “infer” here essentially makes this analogous to “I’m sorry you feel that way…” without the apology part. This is despite Badenoch and the people responsible for this thing making the very fundamental error of mistaking autism for a mental health problem (which in the eyes of people like right-wing Tories would make it a personal failing rather than a genuine health issue).
But beyond that, I’m fascinated and vaguely depressed at this latest illustration that people like this see life as a zero sum game. I mean, we can’t have the plebs getting anything that “offers economic advantages and protections” (as if having significant mental health or neurodevelopmental disorders somehow means the sufferers have won in life) since that’s reserved for the monied elite, politicians and their friends, don’t you know dear boy?
What a disgusting cunt. No doubt Reform voters agree with her though so it’ll play to them well.
Honestly we need to have an open conversation about this stuff.
I grew up with a family member who has Asperger’s. Now included in the autism spectrum. I know what this condition can do to people and I know it’s real.
I also have two kids and see countless examples of children being called autistic who I would describe as naughty and being allowed to get away with it.
Only two days ago at my toddlers football training I was shouted at for telling a parent to stop his child running the wrong way along a balance beam. (This kid was supposed to be on a totally different piece of equipment at this point)
As he was scaring my son and could knock him off.
He shouted “HES EXTREMELY AUTISTIC ACTUALLY”
I told him I don’t care and he needs to watch his child because he is going to knock my son off this beam.
I’ve watched this kid for weeks. He misbehaves constantly and his dad and mum never say anything. He is a toddler. He was standing on the bench whilst the teacher was talking. Stamping his feet to make noise so no one could hear the teacher.
He kept looking back to his dad with a cheeky little face. He knew it was wrong to do. But his parents allow it. And he carries on.
There are countless examples of this I’ve seen throughout my time taking my kids to clubs and schools. Autism is real. But way too many shit parents are using it as an excuse to not parent their children.
They never set any boundaries for their kid. Give them coke and chips for dinner every night. Then turn around and say “well he will only eat chips and drink coke because he’s autistic”
No he isn’t. He has no boundaries and you are making him act that way.
I love how Conservatives see a world absolutely stacked against autistic people and think that measures to not make them go absolutely insane with worry are “economic advantages”.
I’m a big believer in working through your deficits as much as possible, but there’s no point in refusing to adapt to how people think, feel, and are.
As an autistic man who’s experience of trying to get a little bit of help in this country has been effectively just going round in circles for the last 5 years being told by every single service that they can’t offer any support at all, its a surprise to hear that I’m actually being advantaged somehow.
My job for the last few years has basically been challenging schools and local authorities for not doing the bare minimum to support autistic pupils – it certainly doesn’t feel like anyone’s in an “advantageous” position, quite the opposite.
It’s a tough one. I was a primary school teacher for twenty years and used to think that some children were simply the product of their parents not setting enough boundaries; after a time, it became glaringly obvious that some children’s neurodiversity simply presents in different ways.
One autistic child may enjoy the sensory response they get from stroking something soft, another might get it from the reactions he or she illicits when doing something you might view as “naughty”. I’m not sure how you know he has chips and coke for dinner every night, but this may be because his neurodivergence results in seeking the comfort and reassurance of familiarity- he could be having the same healthy salad every night- the point is the same. Some parents who have autistic children may have sought more advice and developed better strategies to support their children, others may find it incredibly difficult and need more support and education about their child’s condition from schools and mental health professionals. It sounds like the parents you describe fall into the latter, and perhaps this is a failing of those institutions.
> “We’re treating disabled people too well in this country”
They should stick that on the side of their bus.
As someone with Asperger’s myself, all I can really say to Badenoch in response is…
.!.. (-_-) ..!.
As someone who’s brother has autism, I find it unbelievable how they could get it so wrong about autism. Evidently nobody took a minute to fact check the pamphlet. Or more likely, they didn’t want to, as their opinion and feelings matter more than fact. They’d probably get hurt in knowing the truth.
Badenoch and her team can fuck off. I think a career as an irrelevant talking head on GBNews is far more suitable to her abilities, than becoming leader of a political party.
For conservatism to work there need to be outgroups that conservatives can demonise against the ‘true volk’ of Britain.
In the time of Enoch Powell people like Kemi Badenoch’s parents were the outgroup who could be demonised.
In the time of Margaret Thatcher it was trade unionists.
In the time of David Cameron it was ‘skivers’ whatever that meant.
In the time of Kemi Badenoch it’s pregnant women and the mentally ill.
It would only take about two dozen moderate one nation tories to defect to the liberal democrats for them to become the official opposition
‘Enoch Powell’ for the modern age – hasn’t yet pulled a “Rivers of Blood”, but one can see the clear intent in all of this nonsense.
As a former teacher, I was once told by a colleague who I learnt a great deal from that “a classroom that works for an autistic child works for the whole class.” I reckon you could expand this to society at large.
Badenoch hasn’t got a clue.
It’s an unpopular take but I do think a diagnosis is also a label which can be unhelpful. And I do think it’s overdiagnosed, despite people claiming they’re struggling to get a diagnosis for themselves.
In fact, people’s determination to receive a diagnosis goes some way to explaining why it may be overdiagnosed.
I’m probably on the spectrum in some way. I know i fit a lot of the criteria and as a brainy kid at school who was a late-talker, I reckon if I were a child today I would be diagnosed easily. But it wasn’t ubiquitous back then and I wasn’t. I’m now an adult with a fairly standard life.
I can’t help but feel a diagnosis would have made my life harder.
Now, can I just say that some of my best friends are normies, but we do need to have a serious, responsible discussion about the alarming impact _some_ (and I mean some – there are plenty of “good ones”!) neurotypical people have on society at large – walking around with their faces, flapping their mouths, saying cosmically dumb sh1t…
>It added that an autism diagnosis in the workforce came with better employment protections against unfair dismissal and a requirement for workplaces to make reasonable adjustments.
>The Buckland review found that at least 700,000 autistic people were economically inactive because of the barriers they faced in finding work.
Autistic people can barely even get jobs. Being rejected on countless occassions due to “cultural fit” is hardly a privilege.
Autistic people, soon to be mother’s on maternity leave, which group will be vilified next?
[deleted]
How the fuck is Badenoch the best they can get? I don’t agree with her transphobia but it’s not really shocking coming from them. But you’re saying people with autism should work on themselves instead of places adapting for them. Do these cunts think that people in wheelchairs should also work on themselves instead of places adapting for them?
Yeah having GAD the ability to gain the occasional accomodation with things like uni exams or job interviews has been welcome. And I’m not as reliant on it as some.
So as per, fuck Bad Enoch, fuck Jenprick, fuck the Tory party and fuck anyone who supports this horse apples.
This just makes me even more confident in my belief that a Britain without the Tories and anyone who wishes to emulate them would be a much better place. They are not human, they are vile, hate filled monsters who feed on the lifeblood of anything worthwhile. While they exist even as out of favour opposition we’re all vulnerable to them wrecking everything.
I’m confused about this. I am autistic and I have a full time job and pay a lot of tax and get FUCK ALL from the government. So what exactly is it I get more than other people?
If I came on a boat and threw my passport into the sea I would get paid accommodation and access health care I can’t even access. Not trying to stir a debate about illegal migration here so please don’t start I am just making a point this woman knows nothing about how this country even operates and who is entitled to what.
A shame, the whole pamphlet is interesting. IMO she does a really good job identifying a new class of people. A bureaucratic class indeed. I doubt there will be any discussion of it outside of this pull quote, which is disappointing.
She just doesn’t know anything about people which means she isn’t fit to be a leader of any political party. MPs should realise that they are meant to be representing the people.
Yes. Pay for me to go to university, get a PHD and years of funding for me to learn how to hack my DNA and do complex surgery on my own brain to restructure it to get rid of my autism.
Oh. You mean pretend and act in a way that my brain isn’t designed to facilitate, completely against my nature? Leading to exhaustion, identity crisis after crisis, painful over stimulation and meltdowns?
The neurotypical world is not built for me. I will always act ‘quirky’ or ‘odd’ like I’m a foreigner and not a native, because it’s not designed for people with my thought structures, patterns and sensitivies. The least people can do is see that I’m trying to cope in that world as best as I can without feeling overwhelmed.
Instead of shoe-horning me into roles with expectations for neurotypical people, why not understand what I need to thrive and contribute in the work place instead of forcing me to drown in a world of expectations, unwritten rules, loud offices and talking to people all day?
Let me design the systems of the future, see patterns in your business and create the next generation of computers. Are you seriously going to get caught up in the little things like not giving you eye contact when I say hello or wearing ear defenders because the noises of people, phones and traffic are too loud for me to think? That’s like grading a goldfish on their ability to climb ladders instead of swimming. Sadly Kemi thinks it’s a one size fits all system. In her vision, silicone valley wouldn’t exist.
The frequency, the tone of these articles bashing Badenoch, appeal to the paper’s readership and by the look of the comments, the subscribers of Reddit. I would expect it will have the effect of noise on the electorate who waiver between party affiliation. It could have focused on providing a substantive counter argument against the pamphlet, It doesn’t. It focuses on rubbishisng Badenoch with little more than vague ad hominem.
Take this supposedly damning line “(diagnosis) offers economic advantages and protections”. If I were trying to convince someone on the spectrum to seek out a diagnosis, I might say this as a justification of the effort and time spent getting that diagnosis, its not controversial or stigmatising. Perhaps its untrue, if it is untrue, the paper does not bother to say so. So the response might be, “but its the context”. The only context, given in the article, is the fact its Badenoch saying it. Thats a tautology, Badenoch is bad cos what she says, what she says is bad because Badenoch said it. It’s garbage. This paper is garbage.