Sunday, June 10, 2012

Loner littlies to be labelled (in Australia)

Today after watching an interview on the ABC's news channel with AMA federal president Steve Hambleton, it is clear, despite his assurances that non-mentally-ill Australian preschoolers will not be inappropriately medicalised and stigmatized in the new program of mental health screening of young children, that Aussie three-year-olds who like to play alone will be labelled as mentally ill or disordered or autistic. I'm sure that many autistic people will be offended at they way that the ABC's reporting of this story incorrectly categorizes the autistic spectrum as mental illness, with the associated implication that it is a disease that can be treated. How many intellectually gifted young Aussie kids who are bored with their age peers and thus prefer to play alone at a completely different level of intellectual functioning will end up with a label of "ASD" as a result of this new Gillard Government program? F***ing heaps, I'd say. Will they be doing anything at all about kids who are abused and neglected by drug-addict or alcoholic parents? If past form is anything to go by, stuff-all will be done about those issues. Too-hard basket for them. That is why when these kids grow up they are known as "basket-cases". Will someone dare to tell mums to pull those f***ing horrible dummies out of toddler's mouths so that the little tykes might one day learn how to express themselves verbally? Doubt it. 
A good argument could be made that Asperger syndrome has been widely used for a very long time as a dustbin diagnosis for kids with unidentified or unacknowledged high IQ who don't fit in. If I had lots of spare time I'd be making that argument, here at this blog. Gee, it would be nice if someone would sponsor me to write this stuff!
Preschoolers to get mental health checks.
ABC News. June 10, 2012.

1 comment:

Justthisguy said...

That reminds me of me, when I was that age!