Social Expectations (by sarah)
Conditions like dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD are supposed to be more preverlant in males but even the NHS seem to think this could be biased. Why would it be biased?
The answer is social expectation of girls - something which with girls improving in leaps and bounds in exams now they are being allowed and ecouraged to do so - may become more evident. If a girl is uncoordinated it's ok she's a girl and they can't catch balls and things anyway can they? Less so now but spelling? Well girls don't need to do well at school unless they are going to be a secretary (this one is almost erradicated but it did exist and in some places still does - I am talking the UK here by the way before everybody gets confused!). If a girl has trouble concentrating well girls are quiet and dreamy anyway aren't they?
I think biased is probably very artificial and as our understanding of children's development increases so this biased will disappear!
However there is another issue with these disorders and society and that is the conclusion that most of the public are still drawing i.e. = lazy child, naughty child or thick child with parents who can't come to terms with it. Now These sorts of cases do exist but they are the minority not the majority.
And worse this is sort of a self fore filling prophesy - if you take an intelligent kid and tell them they are lazy, naughty, can't-do's - that is exactly what they will turn into. In a world where they are frustrated and no one will help them or are even hostile to them, they will be hostile back, they will stop going (playing truant and getting in with people they should be kept safe from). So instead of having a slightly kack-handed physist searching for exo-planets you get Mr 3 Kids in a council house by age 21. Instead of the deptudy manager you get Dude Is Run the Gangs Round 'Ere. Instead of the artist selling her pots and boosting our economy you get Miss Heart Attack Victim dead behind the flats from glue sniffing at seventeen. Instead of the teacher you get Miss Recluse scared of her own shadow and unable to get a job langishing. All this potential wasted.
And the thing is - it's not just people who don't know about the conditions - sometimes people who have struggled with them themselves and have put in coping techniques so well they now no longer believe they have anything wronge with them. Even when they can't sit still for more than 5 minutes even as a grown-up. This is akin to the business person who has made it by hard work and luck to drag themselves out of poverty - they can not see the luck aspect only the work - and yes they have achieved great things but they still would not have managed it without the luck and yet they exactly the people who point to themselves and say 'see I did it the rest of you are just being lazy'.
Don't get me wrong I think that things can be made worse by environment with these conditions and like it or not the parents are not always going to be able to help. They may just not know or they may not be capable of helping or sadly just not care. This is one of the reasons it is so important for there to be Social Peramitters to help these children and adults - and yes I count myself in there - I have been extrememly lucky and things could have been different. So this means educational help, medical help where needed and maybe social workers or the like for those adults who are server enough that they really are just going to be at loss in the world. And it's not that I'm saying people should be giving freedom passes - most want to be useful and helpful - to give something back or to support their families but they may need help in finding the sorts of things they can do.
Sat 16th Oct 2010 9:11 am 
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