Just do jazz hands...!!!

Oh rose - why so prickly? There are plenty of examples on GN of the need for disability awareness training

There have been many flippant posts on this thread so I don't know why I was singled out for disability awareness training.

I am usually a rose without thorns but I felt that was unfair in view of some of the other posts - and the fact that the poster knows nothing whatsoever about me, my family or my and my family's past experience.

Thanks.

Suggesting some Gnetters need disability awareness training is just plain rude.

Shoulder? Chip?

Is hypersensitivity to noise always a disability?

I don't regard mine as a disability, though it can be a nuisance.

But so is a headache, or a sore thumb, or a pain in the leg.

My post re disability awareness was not meant specifically for anyone. Just judging from some of the comments on this and other threads prompted but response.

Prompted this response.

And suggesting shoulder and chip isn't rude merlot?

I had never heard of jazz hands and would feel as utterly silly doing that as dancing to the Birdie song. Consequently, I would not attend a conference where jazz hands would be expected, with the exception of one to do with deafness. After all, I do live in one of the few countries where sign language is one of the three official languages and I did once join a granddaughter dancing to the Birdie song at a school carers and children afternoon.

thatbags if your life is disrupted by your problem it is a disability. You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

I do think we need to be more aware of the problems people have. Children in particular have very difficult times growing up when they have a 'hidden' disability which remains undiagnosed. The relief on their faces when they realise there is a real reason for the problems they have is wonderful to see. By mocking the decisions people take to make provision for people with disabilities we make the lives of all disabled people more difficult.

I mocked no-one so I don't know why I was singled out and told I need 'training'.

Of course, some people may say that rudeness is a disability if people are unaware that they are being rude.

Well, well, well. I make a light hearted comment about a situation that I personally find ridiculous and World War 3 breaks out. I was not - and never would- mock, laugh, ridicule or disparage anyone who suffers from a disability of any kind. I will, however, comment on the actions of those whose misguided attempts at inclusivity actually point up the difference. As I've already said, I work with adults with additional learning needs, and the aim nowadays for those who have previously been socially excluded is normalisation. That means taking service users out of training centres, day centres and supported housing and involving them in as many activities and social settings as they can cope with. We stage theatre productions where we perform to 300 people a night. We have trips out for coffee, Burns nights, Easter Fairs, we make soft toys, pet beds,wedding favours, bird houses, renovate gaden furniture, We have Christmas meals and parties in local hotels with discos and dancing - 200 service users including Downs, autism, Prader-Willi and any other number of learning/developmental difficulties and we have a wonderful time. People develop and can learn to cope with things you wouldn't believe possible. The difficulties are not ignored, but nor are they the only criteria which define the members of the drama groups I work with. Asking delegates at a conference to not applaud for fear of possibly, maybe, perhaps, just in case, upsetting someone is overthought pc thinking and, quite frankly, is insulting to the very group they profess to be considering.

And no, I do not need disabilty awareness training because I am disabled myself and have been since birth. I work with what I have, not what I haven't, and don't expect the rest of the world to constantly make allowances for me.

Clapping, as someone has said, is such a natural, spontaneous way of expressing approval and enjoyment.

Whilst I have every sympathy for people who are hyper-sensitive to noise, it does seem a bit extreme to me to suggest that there should be no clapping at the end of an event or performance.

It is not being facetious or uncaring to say that it really isn't possible to take into account every possible sensitivity that a person might have. One would expect clapping at some sort of performance, as one may well expect clowns at a circus. Would it be reasonable to say that because some people are "clown phobic" (I believe it is a relatively common phobia) then clowns should not appear in circuses, or because some people are frightened of balloons in case they burst (again, I think a fairly common phobia), then balloons shouldn't be sold at fairs.

My grand daughter, who is 4, gets very upset by the sound of a Dyson hand dryer. I don't particularly like that noise either, or the sound of the flush on a plane's toilet. I mean, where does it all end?

Is it possible to use a form of gradual desensitisation to noise, rather than try to eliminate the noise, which isn't always practical? I remember reading a book by Krishnamurti in which he said that the effort to block out a disturbing sound is what causes the greatest stress.

We do " jazz hands" during the wake-up shake-up sessions at DGC's school that I often get roped into.

My sisters puppy gets upset by the sound of Henry the Hoover......... Just saying.

I don't like clowns, balloons, butterflies (well, they are beautiful but not near me) and loud, echoing noise.

Until I read this thread I thought I was quite normal really, but after reading some posts I realise I'm not.

Desensitization was a technique used in a clinic where I worked many years ago - perhaps I should have volunteered to be a guinea pig.

Excellent post, katek. Don't worry about conflicts of opinions on gransnet. That's how it rolls a lot of the time. Inevitably.

eloethan, I find that remark of Krishnamurti's very useful. Thank you for flagging it up.

Well that said it all Katek

The work you do sounds amazing, fun, innovative and practical.

Excellent post katek, you obviously have a lot of experience and must bring joy to many people's lives.
And to eloethan - to both of you for putting it in perspective.

I have just returned to the thread having thought about it in bed last night.

Art galleries exhibit (mostly) paintings - a visual medium. Blind people cannot see the paintings. There is a difference between two possible responses to that by the gallery.

1) To also put on exhibitions of touchable art, of sculpture and textured designs, which can be enjoyed by the visually impaired as well as by sighte people.

2) To stop showing what cannot be experienced in non-visual ways.

I know which I would do - and note the "also". It is not either/or. That is what causes comments that the needs of minorities trump the needs of majorities.

Well done Katek for that post from the sharp end.