tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post1619795332535693568..comments2024-03-19T07:36:33.915-04:00Comments on Of Battered Aspect: Shock Radio: What Was Said What Was MeantDave Hingsburgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11918601687946534172noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-13724643243202535792014-10-07T13:07:22.235-04:002014-10-07T13:07:22.235-04:00Andrea S.: I've been turning this problem over...Andrea S.: I've been turning this problem over in my mind for a while: We <i>really</i> need to work out a way of talking about misdiagnosis of intellectual disability in a way that dismantles the hierarchy instead of perpetuating it.<br /><br />I'm not there, yet, though.CapriUnihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906524679880178584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-73124886757437264672014-10-06T19:42:31.578-04:002014-10-06T19:42:31.578-04:00You forgot one . . . being interrupted in a lively...You forgot one . . . being interrupted in a lively conversation by someone who is being paid to support you and who demands that you leave the conversation and go and use the washroom. (this person is not for whom incontinence is a problem - even if it were, the interruption is inexcusable!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-52666320281772953142014-10-06T17:29:32.766-04:002014-10-06T17:29:32.766-04:00Well said. To be treated in any if those ways is t...Well said. To be treated in any if those ways is to be demeaned, and nobody, regardless if their intellectual capacity wants or deserves to be demeaned. Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06127724900472716057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-91260820798062468472014-10-06T14:43:04.139-04:002014-10-06T14:43:04.139-04:00So well said. Thank you Dave.So well said. Thank you Dave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-89388832195330369712014-10-06T14:35:08.956-04:002014-10-06T14:35:08.956-04:00Agreed with CapriUni. There is a LONG history of ...Agreed with CapriUni. There is a LONG history of "experts" (as well as members of the general public) who just assume that people who do not communicate in a way THEY ("experts" and members of the general public) can understand or recognize as communication necessarily have intellectual disabilities. Although not all people with CP speak differently from people without, many do. And confirmation bias can become very insidious and ugly when "experts" are "diagnosing" intellectual disability. I seriously doubt that the proportion of people with CP who also have intellectual disabilities is anywhere nearly as "substantial" as some "experts" claim it is. Many of the people with CP being diagnosed with intellectual disability have a severe form of CP--and if it is sufficiently severe then that may make it much harder for the person with CP to express themselves in a way that others accustomed to relying on language for communication can understand. It is simply not possible to accurate assess a person's IQ if you haven't even established a reliable system of communication with them. Yet some unethical practitioners will still proceed to do this, which inevitably results in a (usually false) diagnosis of intellectual disability. This has also historically sometimes happened with deaf children. I know one deaf woman who was "diagnosed" with an IQ of 50 and placed in a classroom of hearing children with intellectual disabilities for years until, finally, at age 8, her teacher personally brought her to an audiologist who confirmed what the teacher (and no one else) had suspected for years--that she was only deaf, not with an intellectual disability. In high school, her IQ was re-tested and found to be 150.<br /><br />But, even if all this were not the case. Even if such a substantive portion of people with CP did actually have intellectual disabilities ... so what? With intellectual disabilities or not, all people deserve to be treated with a certain modicum of decency and respect. Which is usually the issue when people complain of being treated "as if they were r****d"Andrea S.http://andreashettle.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-11544440325849261582014-10-06T14:03:04.684-04:002014-10-06T14:03:04.684-04:00what a great article; thanks! what a great article; thanks! aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18298263622146741087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-69793331125784088642014-10-06T11:31:17.706-04:002014-10-06T11:31:17.706-04:00Ettina: I've no doubt that there are people wh...Ettina: I've no doubt that there are people who have C.P. also have an intellectual disability (because in developed countries, premature birth is a primary factor, and that lead to many different complications in the brain).<br /><br />However, having grown up alongside others with C.P., and seen how those diagnosed as intellectual disabilities were treated, I have a strong suspicion that confirmation bias leads to overdiagnosis of intellectual disability.CapriUnihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906524679880178584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-4399225798521156162014-10-06T10:24:47.946-04:002014-10-06T10:24:47.946-04:00Actually, although there certainly are people with...Actually, although there certainly are people with CP and normal (or above normal) IQ, a substantial proportion of people with CP do in fact have cognitive disabilities.Ettinahttp://abnormaldiversity.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-61171847877308619142014-10-06T09:06:05.579-04:002014-10-06T09:06:05.579-04:00You're right. If such treatment is unjust for ...You're right. If such treatment is unjust for some, it's unjust for all. Period. <br /><br />And now, it's confession time: As someone with CP, I used to be in that "Don't put me in a category with <i>those</i> people!" camp. <br /><br />I've grown up, now, and am in the process of growing out of my earlier prejudice (I think, like alcoholism, overcoming your own bigotries is a "one day at a time" struggle). But I still think the misdiagnosis of intellectual disabilities is a pernicious and destructive practice. It reminds me of a blog post you wrote (a couple years ago ??) of seeing a woman with Down Syndrome strapped into a wheelchair by her "caregivers"* because it made her easier to handle, and <i>not</i> because she needed it as a mobility aid (and even if she <i>had</i> needed it as mobility aid, strapping her down and ignoring her wishes was a crime).<br /><br />We, all of us, need to combine our anger, and focus it on changing the attitude that it's acceptable to "write off" <i>anyone's</i> capabilities, because of a diagnosis. The R-word is still in the medical literature as an official term, however, and that's a problem. I looked up its history, this summer, and it turns out it was coined by doctors in an attempt to convey to parents that their children's capabilities were <i>not</i> set in stone. But although they tried to say it, I think they failed to <i>believe</i> it. And intent speaks louder than vocabulary.<br /><br />*"Caregiver* takes on a whole new connotation when you realize that "Care" originally meant "Trouble" or "Worry." <br /><br />CapriUnihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906524679880178584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-48554500970009818682014-10-06T07:58:45.548-04:002014-10-06T07:58:45.548-04:00Yep.
And: recently I've been listening more c...Yep.<br /><br />And: recently I've been listening more closely to the things people say, and discovering that we humans (at least, the Anglophones in the Northeast of White America - I don't have enough data for anyone else) have a whole bunch of hierarchic assumptions that can be used to elevate one and put down another.<br /><br />"My boss treats me like a child." ... at the end of a discussion about inappropriate touch, micromanaging, getting yelled at in public for mistakes. Right away I'm thinking, "Really? Is that how we should be treating children?"<br /><br />Also for "like an animal" ... and lots of other odious comparisons.<br /><br />Thanks for bringing this forward about the hierarchy of mental ability.Maggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-45240958521988975942014-10-06T06:50:02.750-04:002014-10-06T06:50:02.750-04:00Exactly Dave!Exactly Dave!Gleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17671758996746410949noreply@blogger.com