I do not support Danda at all, just plain bonkers on this.
One of the initial problems with Valuing People was that it appeared to discrimate against people
with an IQ beyond 70, however the was a government directive issued to correct that (which most
Local Authorities ignore) to say that if a service was appropriate then people with AS and an IQ
over 70 should be able to access it. I quote "Adults with Asperger's Syndrome or higher functioning
autism are not precluded from using learning disability services, where appropriate, and may require
an assessment of their social functioning and communications skills in order to establish their
level of need."
Ivan Lewis presumably was aware of this
So Mary Colley does not want us to gain our rightful access to services outlined in valuing people.
In any event DANDA is medical model trash. Why the hell should someone want to go to the health
service to be assessed for needs and conditions that are not health related
Once again DANDA like AFF and some other organisations is opting for a high IQ supremacy stand, and
is by implication denigrating people with what are called learning difficulties by distancing
themselves from them in effect drawing even greater attention to the implied stigma.
I suggest you read Joel's Blog http://thiswayoflife.org/blog/?p=304
This is one of the many reasons I do not support DANDA and like organisations, because of there
ignorance muddying the waters and being counter productive in general with stupid misdirected
campaigns like this one, which just end up with more reasons for people to be denied services.
As for Mary Colleys statistic, what hat did she pull that one out of. I like to see evidence, and so
will Ivan Lewis I am afraid.
Larry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Colin REvell
> Sent: 22 May 2008 18:54
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Is L-ARM, MHAG, NAAG, NAG and DAN and others
> supporting DANDA on this?
> Importance: High
>
> Ivan Lewis seems to nott understand @NeuroDiversity and 'our'
> needs in reading this letter below in responsse to DANDA!!!....
>
> Ivan Lewis MP,
> Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, House of
> Commons, London SW1A OAA
>
> 11th February 2008
>
> Dear Mr Lewis
>
> We refer to your letter dated 30th November 2007 sent to us
> on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office. DANDA wishes to
> express our disappointment at the content of this letter as
> we feel it does not adequately address the concerns which we
> raised in our original letter to the Prime Minister's Office;
> a copy of which is enclosed.
>
> In particular we feel that your references to Valuing People
> are irrelevant to us as we are not, nor are the people we
> work on behalf of, learning disabled. As we make clear in
> our original letter, our conditions are known as either
> Specific Learning or Neuro-Developmental Differences (NDD).
> None or very few of the people who we cater for are impaired
> at the level of having a total IQ of 70 or less which is the
> benchmark that Valuing People uses to define learning disability.
>
> We are not affected by an intrinsic learning disability; we
> have distinct cognitive profiles which many public service
> organisations either find too difficult or are unwilling to
> accommodate.
>
> We would ask you to read again our original letter and give a
> more considered response to our concerns; particularly the
> lack of diagnostic facilities on the NHS for people with NDD profiles.
>
> We await your speedy response.
>
> Yours sincerely
>
> Mary Colley
> National Co-ordinator
>
> Orginal letter to Ivan Lewis from DANDA below...
>
> Dear Ivan Lewis MP
>
> We are writing to draw your attention to a group of disabled
> people whose needs are not adequately catered for within
> current public service organisations e.g. NHS, Social
> Services and Police & Criminal Justice System, Employment
> Services or legislation.
>
> Approximately 10% of the adult population have a significant
> degree of Neurological Developmental Difference (NDD) this
> term includes neuro- developmental conditions e.g. dyslexia,
> dyspraxia, AD(H)D and Aspergers Syndrome sometimes referred
> to as Specific Learning Differences. Investment in this 10%
> of the population with initial assessment is an economic necessity.
>
> Diagnosis and assessment for this group of people in the
> United Kingdome is shamefully poor. Although there are
> improvements in some schools since the DDA 2004 assessment
> nationally for children is still patchy particularly for
> those with dyspraxia and conditions where there is a
> combination of learning differences. Teachers are poorly
> trained in recognising NDD profiles.
>
> However for adults the situation is far, far worse as there
> is little on offer - unless you can afford private
> assessment. Many adults who struggle to understand why they
> cannot deal with those aspects of life they find difficult,
> (which others take for granted), can find themselves labelled
> as suffering from depression by GPs who haven't sufficient.
> awareness to spot the signs of NDD. This can be a
> self-fulfilling prophecy and lead to actual depression, which
> further masks the root cause.
>
> How can someone have a chance of getting their rights upheld
> under the DDA, if their disability is so hidden that neither
> they nor their GP or other social services realise that they have it?
>
> For those who have an idea that they may have one (or more
> often more than just one) of these conditions, there are few
> facilities for the GP to refer them to for
> assessment/diagnosis. That is if they can persuade their GP
> to take their symptoms seriously. It is virtually impossible
> for an adult to get an assessment for dyslexia or dyspraxia
> or other NDD conditions on the NHS. This information has
> been gained from our adult helpline of the Dyspraxia
> Foundation and DANDA's helpline which has been going for over
> 11 years. Again, without an assessment the DDA holds little
> protection and without an assessment other facilities such as
> Access to Work are inaccessible.
>
> At DANDA (Developmental Adult Neuro-Diversity Association) we
> know that people who are NDD are disproportionately
> represented in vulnerable groups -the Criminal Justice
> System (including the prisons), amongst suicides, the
> homeless and the unemployed.
>
> There is a difficulty in reproducing hard statistical
> evidence for these assertions because the lack of awareness
> about the issues means that there has been little research
> that could have supplied this. Ironically the only hard
> statistics are to be found in UCAS on entry for the NDD's who
> reach University and figures from the prison population. Data
> from the general population is impossible because of
> inadequate assessment. We believe it is vital for statistics
> from the most vulnerable groups to be available to enable
> society to have the opportunity of dealing prevention of
> social vulnerability
>
> We also need greater awareness and initial screening
> capability in the Social services and employment services as
> well as the need for access to assessment on the NHS. Those
> in most need of this are generally the ones least able to pay
> for them.
>
>
>
> We also need to dramatically improve the awareness of GPs, so
> that the necessary referrals can take place to prevent these
> people being trapped in the depression net.
>
> Your support for the "Neuro-Diversity, Equality and Human
> Rights" paper recently produced by the Disability Rights
> Commission's Autism and Neurodiversity Group would also be
> appreciated.
>
> A copy of this document is available from the DANDA office
> email [log in to unmask] which was commissioned by the DRC
> for the attention of the CEHR. Our aim is to ensure the needs
> of this undervalued group of people in our society. When
> given the opportunity those with such profiles are often over
> represented amongst creative, strategic and innovative thinkers.
>
> Yours
> Colin Revell
> _________________________________________________________________
>
> http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/msnnkmgl0010000002ukm/direct/01/
> ________________End of message________________
>
> This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the
> Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds
> (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies).
> Enquiries about list administration should be sent to
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Archives and tools are located at:
> www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
> You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to
> this web page.
>
>
________________End of message________________
This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies).
Enquiries about list administration should be sent to [log in to unmask]
Archives and tools are located at:
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
You can VIEW, POST, JOIN and LEAVE the list by logging in to this web page.
|