Pauline Hanson on autistic kids in school

[think positive]

^

She's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

She just doesn't know how to articulate what she means. If only she went to a separate school so she can truly get the help she needs as her attempts at mainstreaming doesn't seem to have helped her too much.

Actual LOLs.

Me too!

I don't hate Pauline, and I agree with some of her stuff, (yes David, halal for one!) and some of her other stuff only up to a point.

The reason I felt compelled to comment on this thread at all is the subject, basically, damaged children. As me and others have pointed out, there are a lot of damaged kids out there, in different degrees, for lots of different reasons. I'd like to trust each school to do what's best for both the damaged child, and those fortunate to not be damaged.

The kid in prep that caused so much strife, touched me deeply. I even got hauled into the principles office one day, I thought for a Thankyou since I saved his life - he took off out of class, we had a substitute teacher that day, she had no idea, so I took off after him and grabbed him just before he ran in front of a car. I got told off for touching him! Your not allowed to touch the kids apparently. In grade two he moved to another school, but not before punching two kids in the face, (thankfully he had a bit of a crush on junior, he was always nice to her!) and throwing a brick at the deputy principle, and another through a plate glass window. All day long the teacher had to watch him. He was dangerous. I later heard from a neighbour that he had been found sitting in the middle of the road one day, just waiting to get run over. He was about 6-7 at the time. A product of a failed marriage, he was the pawn in their game. I've often wondered what happened to him. So much anger in such a tiny little body. That poor kid. Do you stick him in reform school? And therefore make him a lifelong member of the 'system' ?

The kid in the wheel chair, and his not quite so badly damaged sister, are still battling on, but the boy especially, is on borrowed time. He was such a delight, happy, gutsy.

I was born dyslexic, left handed, with a heart condition, that medication fixed, but left me with permanent damage to my hearing, which wasn't picked up until I was 16. I just got belted because dad thought I wasn't listening. Since I could hear sound and understand clear speaking people, I thought it was normal. And it is my normal. And once I got a teacher (grade one in a one horse town named cotton end, Bedford, for a time the church was part of our school rooms), her name was mrs Guaghtry, (spelled wrong I'm sure, but that's how you pronounce it) who took the time to help me - I would write in perfect mirror formation apparently! I shot to the top of the class. Was I not worth that time?

Yes as Stui said it has to be a case by case basis, and in my opinion, it's not a point scoring excercise, kids with autism and their broken hearted parents face enough battles as it is. If a child can function in a main stream school with only some disruption to others, that's where they should be.

By the way, a lot of the teachers aids are not helping kids with autism, or any other diagnosis, they just happen to have learning disabilities or behavioural or concentration problems. I'd rather they have an aid than drop ADHD meds. But that's another story! The strap worked too!

Former hyperactive kid who made it through and was worth it. Cheers!

[think positive]

Nonsense. Hanson deserves to be laughed at and ridiculed. Ridicule is an essential part of democracy and no-one ix exempt from it. Especially not politicians. Especially especially ignorant bigoted ones.

There is a difference, however, between laughing at a stupid, dangerous, evil tool, and blanket rejection of any and every issue that person raises simply because of who raised it. This isn't a trivial or minor difference, it's the crucial difference between the normal and healthy rough and tumble of political life on the one hand, and mindless, bigoted group-think on the other. One preserves and is an essential part of democracy, the other is imperils the democratic process and is an essential part of hate speech and mob rule.

Is the difference clear? Let's use your example to make it so.

Hanson makes clumsily-worded statement about Halal.

(a) People ridicule Hanson as a stupid, obsessed bigot. Harsh? Yes. Unkind? Yes. Unfair? Of course. Harmful? No. It's just making a fool look like a fool, which is both a democratic right and a democratic duty. (Sometimes people use this same method to make a decent, intelligent person look bad. That's unfortunate, and I hate it, but it's the price we pay for free speech.)

(b) Mobs of people rush in to defend halal killing simply because Hanson criticised it and poison all debate or opinion on the matter (other than their own). They allow their (perfectly reasonable) contempt for Hanson the Bigot to trick them into a form of bigotry every bit as bad as and probably worse than hers. They are no longer criticising Hanson or disagreeing with her point, they are crucifying anyone (no matter how civilised and decent) who dares to question their one-eyed, polarised view and making the subject impossible to discuss in public

"Do not make any small criticism and do not ask questions" they are saying, "because if you do, we will nail you to the cross and paint "Hansonite" across your forehead".

This is not healthy democracy. This is shutting down the debate in a way which would have made Senator McCarthy proud and Stalin happy. Can you smell the pink triangle? The "Juden" tattoo? This is where it starts. Not with ridicule and humour at the expense of politicians (that's natural and healthy) but with the mob-rule crucifixion of ideas.

Well said. You can stick the name Trump in there just as easily. Even if he does a minute bit of good will it go unnoticed?

[David]

[Mugwump]

^ he's often very good Rundle, and that article is pretty much spot on. The question is how w best this culture of "emotive breast beating" when many of the higher educated are so addicted to it ???

[Tannin]

An excellent article, David, thankyou. This is exactly the sort of healthy, thoughtful response democracy thrives on. Note how very, very few responses to Hanson's speech have been in this vein, and how many have been in the mindless-opposition-to-anything-she-says-because-of-who-said-it mode I ranted about a couple of posts previously.

[stui magpie]

I might read all that later, I generally find Grundle's stuff isn't worth it, but I'll see.

Ex NRL player who has an Autistic daughter weighs in on Hanson's side.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/rendezview/ ... fa0fd0022b

[Dave The Man]

I might read all that later, I generally find Grundle's stuff isn't worth it, but I'll see.

Ex NRL player who has an Autistic daughter weighs in on Hanson's side.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/rendezview/ ... fa0fd0022b

Well that be Correct for the Ones with Severe Autism but not every kid has Severe Autism.

There are some good Points he Makes but I don't agree putting these Kids in Special School. Majority of them more need is a Integration Aid to help out.

I had one and made a Huge Difference

[Pies4shaw]

Once we get out the autistics, the asthmatics, the ones who can't concentrate, the ones who talk too much, the ones who talk too little, the ones who can't read, the ones who can't count, the ones who can't write, the ones who are too disruptive, the ones who are too creative and all of the others who need too much attention to learn, the task of teaching will be so much easier. The classes will be nice and small, too.

[stui magpie]

I might read all that later, I generally find Grundle's stuff isn't worth it, but I'll see.

Ex NRL player who has an Autistic daughter weighs in on Hanson's side.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/rendezview/ ... fa0fd0022b

Well that be Correct for the Ones with Severe Autism but not every kid has Severe Autism.

There are some good Points he Makes but I don't agree putting these Kids in Special School. Majority of them more need is a Integration Aid to help out.

I had one and made a Huge Difference

Dave, I stand by my earlier comment, horses for courses. Each kid is different and that needs to be considered.

I just posted the article because it was relevant. His personal experience is obviously that his daughter would do better in a special school.

I found it interesting that the US apparently has special schools for autistic kids. I don't necessarily agree with that. Again, depends on the severity of their condition.

[stui magpie]

Once we get out the autistics, the asthmatics, the ones who can't concentrate, the ones who talk too much, the ones who talk too little, the ones who can't read, the ones who can't count, the ones who can't write, the ones who are too disruptive, the ones who are too creative and all of the others who need too much attention to learn, the task of teaching will be so much easier. The classes will be nice and small, too.

You just reminded me of a kid I went to high school with. Aboriginal kid, blond hair and whiter than me, the white sheep of the family. His brother left school at the end of year 8, this kid was determined to get his yr 10 certificate. Problem was, he was barely literate. No integration aids back then (at least not in the bush) so this poor bugger had just been pushed up a grade each year until he hit yr 10 with English and Maths skills at grade 3 level max.

I tried to help him out a bit in class a few times, but no good. he wasn't actually stupid or had a learning disability, he'd just never learned somehow.

you'd reckon somewhere on the journey, a teacher might have tried to do something?

Anyway, he got his yr 10 certificate and promptly left school. No pass or fail for Yr 10 back in the 80's in NSW, you do the test you get the cert.

How the hell you get a score of around 20% in a multiple choice maths test though has still got me stuffed. He just went down the questions and ticked A, B, C, D, A, B, C, D etc to the end.

[Dave The Man]

I might read all that later, I generally find Grundle's stuff isn't worth it, but I'll see.

Ex NRL player who has an Autistic daughter weighs in on Hanson's side.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/rendezview/ ... fa0fd0022b

Well that be Correct for the Ones with Severe Autism but not every kid has Severe Autism.

There are some good Points he Makes but I don't agree putting these Kids in Special School. Majority of them more need is a Integration Aid to help out.

I had one and made a Huge Difference

Dave, I stand by my earlier comment, horses for courses. Each kid is different and that needs to be considered.

I just posted the article because it was relevant. His personal experience is obviously that his daughter would do better in a special school.

I found it interesting that the US apparently has special schools for autistic kids. I don't necessarily agree with that. Again, depends on the severity of their condition.

and I agree with you. It's Horses for Courses.

I also found it Intresting that US had Schools for Autistic People. I don't where I stand on that

[Pies4shaw]

Uniforms with yellow six-pointed stars?

[think positive]

Once we get out the autistics, the asthmatics, the ones who can't concentrate, the ones who talk too much, the ones who talk too little, the ones who can't read, the ones who can't count, the ones who can't write, the ones who are too disruptive, the ones who are too creative and all of the others who need too much attention to learn, the task of teaching will be so much easier. The classes will be nice and small, too.

yup!!

[HAL]

Teachers often put me to sleep, unless the topic is really interesting to me.

[5150]

Once we get out the autistics, the asthmatics, the ones who can't concentrate, the ones who talk too much, the ones who talk too little, the ones who can't read, the ones who can't count, the ones who can't write, the ones who are too disruptive, the ones who are too creative and all of the others who need too much attention to learn, the task of teaching will be so much easier. The classes will be nice and small, too.

I just think that's going too far.
There are only three types of kids in a class, those that can count and those who can't.