Can we remove the "Special Needs" out of the Forum Index to "Neurodiversity and Disabilities"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about kids with special needs and disabilities. Covers everyone.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about kids with special needs and disabilities. Covers everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember when disabled was considered an inappropriate term? We can’t keep chasing the latest fads on words.

Labels, Labels, Labels...

+100000

[Anonymous]

Here's the discussion from 2021 when the forum name was changed to add "disabilities" as opposed to just saying "special needs": https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/980111.page

Also, this thread should probably be in the "Website Feedback" forum.

[Anonymous]

Every single one of these terms was, at one point, the newfangled and sensitive replacement for its predecessor.

Even mentally re…, sorry, the “R” word.

[Anonymous]

Continuing. There will come a day when “neurodivergent” is considered a slur — it will be another “N” word — and “ret..ded” will be so old, and its meaning long forgotten, that it will be acceptable as a casual insult, which is exactly what eventually happened to “idiot.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every single one of these terms was, at one point, the newfangled and sensitive replacement for its predecessor.

Even mentally re…, sorry, the “R” word.

Sadly true...

[Anonymous]

Atypical needs

[Anonymous]

How do you have bandwidth to even care about this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Atypical needs

Interesting, I hadn't heard of this one...I wouldn't mind this suggestion...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have a son with 145 IQ, ADHD and ASD, and a daughter with "just" the high IQ, and I really would like this forum to understand that being gifted IS ALSO a special need, in that it comes with its own set of challenges that are outside of the range of normal.

So "neurodivergent" seems great, and "disabilities" seems great too. Regardless of whether you believe that ADHD is a disability (when it's severe, it most definitely is!), those two words seem to cover all the spectrum of neuropsychological situations that are outside the range of normal.

So I vote yes.

I don't get this. I'm exceptionally high IQ (165+) and no, it doesn't come with it's own set of "special needs" anything close to actual special needs kids. Unless you have comorbidities (anxiety, depression or whatever). My kid is true SN with ADHD/ASD/high IQ. My life was a cakewalk compared to his, and frankly compared to almost the vast majority of NT people i know. My sister was similarly high IQ, but depressed - and her life was harder. But saying that high IQ, alone, is a special need with challenges.... it's really not in isolation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When i'm chatting with another mom from school or someone else who doesn't know DS's official diagnosis, and the convo is casual enough that i don't feel like dropping in fancy diagnoses or formal terms (that can change the mood really fast), i just say that DS has "some additional needs" or "some special needs". Seems like use of the word "some" softens the term and is absolutely still an accurate description of what's going on (he DOES have some special or additional needs relative to other kids). It somehow seems a little less aggressive than saying "he is special needs".

I don't really give a shit about all the nomenclature though, and mostly like to keep diagnoses to ourselves. Much like if someone has some other medical disease, they don't go around dropping the diagnosis in every random conversation; but if it comes up organically (like, why you won't be able to attend that event next week) people would say "oh i've got some medical stuff going on....".

+1 here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have a son with 145 IQ, ADHD and ASD, and a daughter with "just" the high IQ, and I really would like this forum to understand that being gifted IS ALSO a special need, in that it comes with its own set of challenges that are outside of the range of normal.

So "neurodivergent" seems great, and "disabilities" seems great too. Regardless of whether you believe that ADHD is a disability (when it's severe, it most definitely is!), those two words seem to cover all the spectrum of neuropsychological situations that are outside the range of normal.

So I vote yes.

Aaah of course you do . . . Sorry parenthood is so difficult for you with your gifted children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about kids with special needs and disabilities. Covers everyone.

I prefer not changing too. I think people see only ASD and ADHD when they see neurodiversity because those are the loudest voices right now. I think special needs covers much more.

[Anonymous]

I agree we are just playing a semantic game at this point. When I talk about my neuro-divergent DD, I often use the term "high needs" instead because the negative connotation with the term "special needs" will sometimes make people write her off or pigeonhole her instead of focusing on her actual needs and the concrete ways we can meet them. So I often say "high needs" with teachers or doctors because they seem to respond better to this term. But I'm not going to advocate for the "High Needs" forum because that sounds weird. My kid has both special needs and a disability. There is nothing insulting about acknowledging that.