Comments | friendly_crips: Treatment of children with disabilities versus treatment of adults with disabilities

rainbow_goddess in friendly_crips

Treatment of children with disabilities versus treatment of adults with disabilities

Jun 13, 2012 00:16

Warning: long rant ( Read more... )

work, family, conditions: asthma, advertising, children, adults, visibility, the benefits system, the disabled person, conditions: diabetes, charities, conferences or seminars, conditions: autistic spectrum, awareness

Comments 22

dimity_blue June 13 2012, 17:59:00 UTC

I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how frustrating it is for you to have these organisations blow you off until they think they can get money out of you. So you're only worth bothering about while your wallet is open to them. That would annoy me to the nth degree.

And I agree with you: why can't they offer services to the adults who are suffering from those same conditions?! If there are children with those conditions, there are (most likely) going to be adults with those conditions. Assuming people will suddenly be cured (or what? Disappear?!) once they turn 18/19 is ridiculous.

rainbow_goddess June 13 2012, 20:34:29 UTC

I get the impression from the parents that when it comes to diabetes, they really want to believe that their children will be cured before they reach adulthood. They don't want to acknowledge the existence of adults with diabetes because that would shatter their illusion ( ... )

nightengalesknd June 13 2012, 23:20:41 UTC

I think part of it for diabetes is the We Will Have A Cure Soon message propagated by the foundations themselves. When my dad was diagnosed with T1, I was in high school and used to read his American Diabetes Association magazine every month. It kept talking about a Cure Within 5 years. I was diagnosed 15 years later. I picked up a new copy of the magazine and it is still talking about a Cure Within 5 years. I know I don't have a great sense of time, but it seems like an awfully long 5 years to me. . .

rainbow_goddess June 13 2012, 23:28:18 UTC

Currently they're shooting for "a cure on the 100th anniversary." Insulin was discovered in 1920, so they want to have a cure by 2020. Right now it looks as if the Edmonton Protocol is probably the closest they will come to a cure, unless they find a way to reverse diabetes before the person in question -- usually a child -- has had it for too long. If I recall correctly there's a "honeymoon" period when the newly diagnosed person is still making a tiny little bit of insulin, and there is research going on into how to take advantage of that period and reverse the destruction of the islet cells. Unfortunately that won't help people like me who've had it for going on 40 years.

Thread 6

lilenth June 13 2012, 23:04:05 UTC

One thing I've noticed is an almost vicious backlash against disabled adults from parents, both of disabled children and of non-disabled children ( ... )

rainbow_goddess June 13 2012, 23:34:07 UTC

I think there are a few things going on ( ... )