There is a lot of political and media focus on certain carefully framed questions at present in the UK…

  • Why are so many parents keeping their children from attending classroom education?
  • Why are there so many autistic children now compared to in the past?
  • Why are schools having to divert so many resources away from core teaching and into special needs support?
  • Why is there such rising demand for Child and Young Person Mental Health Services?
  • Why are so many young people unable to work and pay taxes?
  • Why are we spending so much on disability and carer benefit support? Why is it so easy to claim……

I will say it again, these are CAREFULLY FRAMED. All designed to support a narrative about the pressure this puts on businesses and hard working taxpayers. It’s like the framed questions and narrative which is being pushed about how immigration is causing unemployment, the lack of affordable housing, the breakdown in communities and public services. As a result many in our society now find themselves very much labelled as problems, a burden on others….

I find myself increasingly feeling at odds with the direction of travel the country is heading in. I guess I’m not the only one increasingly feeling like our voices are being drowned out.

Deep sigh….

In all this, in all the political, press, tv and social media coverage I’m not hearing three issues ever being discussed. I guess because they don’t fit in with the CAREFULLY FRAMED NARRATIVE. The large elephants in the room.

Just how difficult, stressful the process is, just how many hoops you have to jump through to try and claim any sort of financial help, disability and carer support. And when you get that support it is at best mo more than the bare minimum, it is NOT a life of luxury.

Child and Young Persons Mental Health Services are stretched to breaking point. It’s a service that has been cut back and underfunded for years. Huge delays in accessing services, services spread way too thin. Again it’s also a nightmare trying to get a young person registered for these stretched services. In our case it took two and half years. A process designed to discourage use. Far too many miss out on the help and support they badly need.

In the UK, as soon as a young person hits 18 they are signed off the support service. There is no equivalent adult service. With Hawklad his Care Lead wanted to hand him onto another service to continue the support after he reached the age threshold, but there was no service to hand him on to. So he was signed off. Support ended. To the number crunchers and spreadsheet decision makers, he is now classed as FIXED as he has been signed off from support. How many young people, how many families suddenly find themselves with no support, no help, no one to turn to. How many don’t even get the support when they were younger. The question shouldn’t be why are so many young people unable to work, why are so many listed as …… it should be why are we LETTING so many young people and adults DOWN.

39 thoughts on “The elephant in the room”

  4. In Canada, I spent much of my adult working life working with adult persons with disabilities. It is not the greatest system in the world, but at least there is a system — depending on which province one lives in. Some provinces (British Columbia) are better than others (New Brunwick) though that may have changed in the last 20 years. Funding was always better under Liberal or NDP governments than Conservatives. You can guess why. I do ‘t know what it is I am trying to say, Gary, but there needs to be a lifelong process for those persons who cannot go it alone.
    A whole new approach needs to be tried, on a United Nations level. National or lesser governments cannot be allowed to run the show — persons with disabilities cannot be used as political footballs.

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      1. The secret behind most democratic governments today is that they are money fovegeign — they decide how much money they create, and fkor what. They can fund anything they damn well please. But it pleases them to pretend they cxn’t afford certain things. They ALWAYS have money to raise their own salaries abd expense avcounts!

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  6. When times are tough, society goes towards conservatism as a whole. And it’s then all about cuts. And the first groups to suffer are the marginalized groups that need the social services the most. It’s sad the narrative and misinformation that is being presented – to further other people with disabilities. Sometimes, you just wanna bury your head in the sand than deal with the sadness and insanity of the news that we receive. Truly sad times, Gary.

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      1. Not nice nor fun!

        Just found out my son’s school cut their learning disabilities classroom and all the kids are now absorbed into the mainstream program with no increase to staffing support. Not a good look nor outcome for anyone!

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  7. I call it the “blame the victim mentality”. So many in power who are egotistical and short-sighted have forgotten that when you lift the most needy, you lift everyone. It’s too easy to live in a bubble that only serves the wealthy and powerful, blaming the “needy” for being needy (through no fault of their own). I truly believe there’s an increase in younger folks who don’t fit the mold, who need support, to force systems to change because it’s not working anymore. Hang in there.

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  10. It makes me rant too – from the other side.

    I was working with a trouble teen and the school told me they didn’t bother putting most on the waiting list as too often they would go on the waiting list at 11 years of age, still be waiting at18 and get signed off. They’re thought process was that they wanted to get the most urgent/worst on the list so that maybe they’d be seen and people like myself try to support the rest!!

    Also a young girl who was homeless and had found temporary sheltered accommodation was, at 18 signed off and couldn’t cope with yet another rejection so went AWOL and who knows where she is now – a vulnerable young woman on the streets 😦

    Grateful Hawklad has you to keep him safe and support him, even though he needs so much more. Like you said it is the way those questions are worded that is the issue. It just gave me a space to rant 😦

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  12. The problem is always the problem – so if we do not address it, there is no problem. Voila! Problem solved!

    Definitely not a new (Ahem!) concept, but what is maddening is the increasing number of the general public of any country willing to accept these carefully framed narratives and go along with demonizing their fellow citizens in most need of our compassion and help. It angers me that so many of that number include folks who daily polish their Christian monikers without a thought to love thy neighbor as yourself.

    You and Hawklad are always in my prayers.

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    2. It is not just love your neighbour but isn’t there a verse about caring for the widows/widowers and orphans, and about caring for the vulnerable. [Sad]

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  13. I have a colleague in the exact same situation with her son as you with Hawklad. The US has many of these same issues as the UK, but with the odd irony that for all the shifting towards mental health support, there is still nearly no special education support that can fully support its school distrct. For all that funding, the staffing just isn’t there, and it is FRUSTRATING. Virtual hugs to you and Hawklad both! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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    1. in our region, a child has to have been reviewed by an educational psychologist before they will be considered for educational support. The psychologist has to develop the plan. There are 2 covering over 400 schools across a huge area. Children leave school before they are seen. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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