Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is as much support as there is scorn. I try to balance both.

I guess it depends but my child struggles with mental illness and there is very little empathy and support and a whole lot of scorn and judging.

I'm sorry, PP. Medieval and primitive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is as much support as there is scorn. I try to balance both.

I guess it depends but my child struggles with mental illness and there is very little empathy and support and a whole lot of scorn and judging.

Stay off the other forums. You will find support for kids with mental health issues on this one. The Health forum is also supportive of mental health problems as well, but it is is less focused on kids.

I think finding a closed facebook group for parents facing similar challenges can be really helpful, but if you don't know someone they can be hard to track down.

I sometimes fall victim to reading the MD Public School forum (on DCUM). It's usually a mistake. All those parents are so caught up in the rat race of perfect children attending perfect schools, getting perfect grades, getting into perfect colleges and continuing on in their perfect world... where SN kids apparently don't exist to them.

There was a comment on one thread the other day where someone was very irate about money being spent in schools on SN kids.

This is a generalization... but it's the vibe I get on those threads.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is as much support as there is scorn. I try to balance both.

I guess it depends but my child struggles with mental illness and there is very little empathy and support and a whole lot of scorn and judging.

Mental illness is very common, far more common than people realize, but it is still "in the closet." If people knew how many of their own friends, coworkers and relatives, how many famous and highly accomplished people struggle with mental illness, I think there would be sea change in how people view it and much more sympathy for those who suffer from it.

Anonymous wrote:There is as much support as there is scorn. I try to balance both.

I guess it depends but my child struggles with mental illness and there is very little empathy and support and a whole lot of scorn and judging.

McLean Bible Church is a mega-church in Tyson's Corner VA with a very active program for kids with SN's.

There are several posters on this forum who do a nice job patrolling the posts and asking Jeff to intervene. I would ignore the ignorance sometimes displayed on other forums that are not monitored the way this one is.

There are special needs parent groups rhat meet all around the area. I have found the most understanding there. Most people who don't have an SN child don't seem to understand, even if they are nice about it.

I find this forum very supportive and informative. I wouldn't go out looking on the other forums for threads about kids with special needs.

There is as much support as there is scorn. I try to balance both.

What we really need is judgment as well as having kids with issues. How nice.

It's awful, ignore. There was a thread a while ago suspecting all moms of kids with add of drinking during pregnancy. Thanks ladies!

DCUM is not real life. Don't take what you read here too seriously.

As a parent of a young child with SNs, I'm saddened by the threads in some of the more general forums on DCUM about our children. It's amazing how people show their true colors in an anonymous forum. Have any of you found a good community, a school or church or other place, what is really understanding of special needs and if you have can you tell me where? I'm worried this area or maybe just our area is not for us. People seem very competitive and want their children to be perfect. They seem obsessed over minor things about their children and seem to look down on children with any "flaws." Am I just projecting based on our own negative experiences with some parents and those recent threads?