RFK, Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch offer daily blasts of nonsense that amount to a cruel insistence: that neurodiversity must be denied, decried and put back in its box
Just finishing the book which Ive loved. The love and understanding of you and Ginny really shines through. It's an education and Id recommend it to anybody.
As it happened, Waiting for the Man is one of my all time favourite tracks and I was lucky enough to see the Velvets in 69/70. Talking to a friend recently about the book it turned that it was his favourite track too. We reflected on our personal traits and people we knew, concluding that maybe we are all neurodiverse in the way that we are different shapes, sizes and colours, with some of us more diverse than others. We'll have succeeded when that is accepted and we allow for and adapt to others different personalities. That idea that there is one 'neurotypical' type that we should be pushed into is as ridiculous as suggesting we should all be the same shape, size and colour.
And of course, the dislike and intolerance of Farage and the rest of the right shown towards neurodiverse people is consistent with their attitudes to any other form of diversity.
So painful and frightening to read (as a human being, let alone father of two neruo-diverse children), so enraging that these repulsive turds have so much traction. In my view, their discourse all sits in the neighbourhood of the notion of a 'master race', a term they know not to use, but which sits like a malevolent chimney, belching out its smoke from the furnaces consuming the different, the weak, the needy, the unwell, the bolshy, the questioning, the foreign (and for old times sake, probably the jews, disabled, queer and roma). We should only care about and pay for white, English-speaking, unthinkingly patriotic and 'normal' folk who are straight, so-called neuro-typical, beer-loving, royalty/trump/strong-men-genuflecting, empire-nostalgic types. What's lost on their cheerleaders - take a good look at Farage, Kennedy, Tommy Robinson and all the other drek - is that they are the very last samples of DNA any self-respecting master race would seek to breed from. They are masters of nothing more than being able to appeal to the venal that I suppose in some degree sits within us all.
The greatest danger with these people is that they seem willing to use any tranche of the populace, however vulnerable, to garner attention and benefit from the fallout.
There seems to be zero moral clarity to the New Right’s aggressive assault on things we ought to cherish. Pity they don’t tear themselves apart over policy instead of jeopardising long and hard-fought rights that protect all of us.
I've long been a fan of your opinion pieces in The Guardian and just wanted to say thank you for all you do for the neurodivergent community in raising awareness of the struggles we face against the very institutions that should be set up to have our backs!
I'm the father of an autistic/ADHD (or AuDHD) son, who has had to fight the system. My son was diagnosed aged 5, after his first experiences of nursery school prompted him to wish he was no longer here. We moved primary schools in the hope of finding better support (especially since the headteacher said she had an ADHD son herself) but after a brief stint with a teacher who got his needs, the same problems re-emerged. We were discouraged from seeking an EHCP (because there were children with more severe symptoms ahead of us) and we battled on, hoping that things would improve.
Alas, my son went into burnout, aged nine, and attempted to 'end things' at school on two occasions in close succession. This stemmed from having fallen behind in the classroom and being bullied in the playground. He entered crisis.
We withdrew him from school, fought to get an EHCP (having previously paid for a private OT assessment that supported this need) and liaised with CAMHS to support him emotionally, all while battling the school and the council (who pushed for his return to mainstream) and attempting to secure alternative provision (first, some form of home schooling when he was ready, and then specialist provision).
After over 18 months (during which my own mental health suffered, resulting in time off work; and my wife's MS worsened fatigue-wise), we did finally secure a place at a specialist school (we also moved home during this process, out of Surrey into Hampshire, as we were struggling with cost of living).
Luca is now doing well at school. He's on track to have secured GCSE equivalent passes in maths, English and food tech before he enters his GCSE years. The progress he has made has been incredible - but largely down to the support he has received. It's a different ball game. When we speak to the school, we're listened to and heard.
I hope you don't mind me sharing this with you. But I wanted you to know where I was coming from - and why your posts and opinion pieces resonate with myself and my wife so much. We intend to buy your book sometime this year too.
As for this post, I couldn't agree more with all of the sentiments contained within. The fear over what is coming is very real as politicians from the US and the UK increasingly seem to have declared war on disability and all things ND in particular. I do all I can within my own circles to push back, raise awareness (often by sharing your columns on LinkedIn), and correct wrongs. But it's good to know there are people out there like you doing the same - with a wider platform.
Just finishing the book which Ive loved. The love and understanding of you and Ginny really shines through. It's an education and Id recommend it to anybody.
As it happened, Waiting for the Man is one of my all time favourite tracks and I was lucky enough to see the Velvets in 69/70. Talking to a friend recently about the book it turned that it was his favourite track too. We reflected on our personal traits and people we knew, concluding that maybe we are all neurodiverse in the way that we are different shapes, sizes and colours, with some of us more diverse than others. We'll have succeeded when that is accepted and we allow for and adapt to others different personalities. That idea that there is one 'neurotypical' type that we should be pushed into is as ridiculous as suggesting we should all be the same shape, size and colour.
Totally agree. And awed you saw the Velvets. Thanks for lovely words about the book
In case you missed it. The Velvets live... on their brief comeback. Waiting for the Man at 59 mins in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ExmXKFgMI&t=1919s
And of course, the dislike and intolerance of Farage and the rest of the right shown towards neurodiverse people is consistent with their attitudes to any other form of diversity.
So painful and frightening to read (as a human being, let alone father of two neruo-diverse children), so enraging that these repulsive turds have so much traction. In my view, their discourse all sits in the neighbourhood of the notion of a 'master race', a term they know not to use, but which sits like a malevolent chimney, belching out its smoke from the furnaces consuming the different, the weak, the needy, the unwell, the bolshy, the questioning, the foreign (and for old times sake, probably the jews, disabled, queer and roma). We should only care about and pay for white, English-speaking, unthinkingly patriotic and 'normal' folk who are straight, so-called neuro-typical, beer-loving, royalty/trump/strong-men-genuflecting, empire-nostalgic types. What's lost on their cheerleaders - take a good look at Farage, Kennedy, Tommy Robinson and all the other drek - is that they are the very last samples of DNA any self-respecting master race would seek to breed from. They are masters of nothing more than being able to appeal to the venal that I suppose in some degree sits within us all.
The greatest danger with these people is that they seem willing to use any tranche of the populace, however vulnerable, to garner attention and benefit from the fallout.
There seems to be zero moral clarity to the New Right’s aggressive assault on things we ought to cherish. Pity they don’t tear themselves apart over policy instead of jeopardising long and hard-fought rights that protect all of us.
Hi John
I've long been a fan of your opinion pieces in The Guardian and just wanted to say thank you for all you do for the neurodivergent community in raising awareness of the struggles we face against the very institutions that should be set up to have our backs!
I'm the father of an autistic/ADHD (or AuDHD) son, who has had to fight the system. My son was diagnosed aged 5, after his first experiences of nursery school prompted him to wish he was no longer here. We moved primary schools in the hope of finding better support (especially since the headteacher said she had an ADHD son herself) but after a brief stint with a teacher who got his needs, the same problems re-emerged. We were discouraged from seeking an EHCP (because there were children with more severe symptoms ahead of us) and we battled on, hoping that things would improve.
Alas, my son went into burnout, aged nine, and attempted to 'end things' at school on two occasions in close succession. This stemmed from having fallen behind in the classroom and being bullied in the playground. He entered crisis.
We withdrew him from school, fought to get an EHCP (having previously paid for a private OT assessment that supported this need) and liaised with CAMHS to support him emotionally, all while battling the school and the council (who pushed for his return to mainstream) and attempting to secure alternative provision (first, some form of home schooling when he was ready, and then specialist provision).
After over 18 months (during which my own mental health suffered, resulting in time off work; and my wife's MS worsened fatigue-wise), we did finally secure a place at a specialist school (we also moved home during this process, out of Surrey into Hampshire, as we were struggling with cost of living).
Luca is now doing well at school. He's on track to have secured GCSE equivalent passes in maths, English and food tech before he enters his GCSE years. The progress he has made has been incredible - but largely down to the support he has received. It's a different ball game. When we speak to the school, we're listened to and heard.
I hope you don't mind me sharing this with you. But I wanted you to know where I was coming from - and why your posts and opinion pieces resonate with myself and my wife so much. We intend to buy your book sometime this year too.
As for this post, I couldn't agree more with all of the sentiments contained within. The fear over what is coming is very real as politicians from the US and the UK increasingly seem to have declared war on disability and all things ND in particular. I do all I can within my own circles to push back, raise awareness (often by sharing your columns on LinkedIn), and correct wrongs. But it's good to know there are people out there like you doing the same - with a wider platform.
I wish you and your son all the best.