STOP CLAPPING!

Sorry.Lyndiloo.

Its a huge can of worms been opened up lindyloo!

I presume then that MORE than one person has complained to the students union?,as you cant judge by one person..I never said my son was everyones spokesperson.i said HIS opinion.as a person suffering this.hes also entitled to an opinion.same as whomever approached student union to change things.you appear very opinionated yourself tillybelle.(are you the student union rep im wondering?)

Jazz Hands is how an audience show their appreciation of a performance/ speach by someone using BSL.
If you read Emily's link you will see this is typical media misrepresentation.
Smurf not everyone can cope with every day outside noise. My DS dosen't go anywhere without his head phones and his i-player

And in parliament they probably always will continue to debate that way- its been so since parliament began..

No tillybelle,but for the government its just one step away from doing this in universities/parliament to doing it everywhere else where people usually clap for ending of a performance! And,DARE I SAY IT?you seem to like jumping on a bandwagon and lecturing people for having an opinion just the same as you do.I sympathise with sufferers but they dont all avoid life.some find ways of coping."We cant change majority for a minority" is what some other posters have said and im inclined to agree..Disagree if you so wish.

It is complete nonsense - and anyone who cannot cope with clapping shouldn’t be in a public hall.

I agree with Tillybelle. It's good to see young people trying to help others with sensory difficulties.

This is the Manchester Student Unions response to the publicity. It was their policy not the university's

manchesterstudentsunion.com/articles/official-statement-on-bsl-clapping

It was to promote inclusivity for deaf people who use British Sign Language.

My grandson has autism and puts his hood up if things are 'too much'- its not always just sounds causing anxiety which the university dont seem to be grasping.My daughter was diagnosed with aspergers and ASD issues later after turning 30- shes returned to uni now kids are at school&often has to go to lectures etc and she hasnt complained about the clapping& whooping either.Someone somewhere in uni has had this mentioned and assumed as usual that 'everyone' with these types of disabilities are the same.again.

Nannan2 I think you, and others, are extrapolating to all theatres and performances quite erroneously! Dare I say it? - you are just trying to deride the students without sticking to the facts?

I am sorry to hear od your DS's hyperacusis, but as I said before, you cannot judge by one person. The research shows that MANY people are disabled by the overwhelming discomfort of sudden loud noise to the extent that they alter their lives and avoid places where they fear such noise might occur. Your son is not their Spokesperson. The research proves that.

As for deciding that BSL clapping will be used in all theatres at all entertainment - that is your imagination. The Manchester Students did not say anything like that!

The *truth& is this: This decision was taken for a specific place, and for specific public meetings. Nobody said use it at "The Royal Variety Performance".

Sara Khan (the union's liberation and access officer,) said BSL clapping will be used at student events such as debates, panels and talks.

That is a long way from Theatrical Entertainment shows!

I quote from the BBC:
"Ms Khan, who proposed the motion at a recent meeting said clapping can "discourage" some from attending democratic events.
"I think a lot of the time, even in Parliamentary debates, I've seen that clapping, whooping, talking over each other, loud noises, encourages an atmosphere that is not as respectful as it could be," she said."

What a sensible and polite young lady!
I would say that the noise, shouting, butting-in etc. in the House of Commons is a complete disgrace to parliamentary democracy and not the way adults should behave! Our Politicians could learn something from such a decent and well-mannered young student!

All she is doing, is to considerately and democratically enable as many people to attend these meetings as are entitled to be there and to ensure that no disability will keep them away. Furthermore, everybody will be given the right to be heard! Unlike in the House of Commons!

Good for Miss Khan!

Perhaps a better idea would be to have a no-clapping section in the room, where all those affected by the sound can sit?

Tillybelle- i fully understand how bad this type of disability is HOW PAINFUL it can be- so does my son.Whose missed a lot of time in school because of it as for years no one had diagnosed him when he tried to explain it- and even when they did he was sent to a school on the hospital ward as outpatient because his own school didnt know how to cope with it(they certainly didnt make everyone tiptoe around being silent or use jazz hands in assembly)not for him nor for the children with ASD issues,which he also has traits of,and like i said he himself(now 15) thinks its a stupid idea.

I dislike the use of the word 'twat' and I dislike 'snowflake' in this context as well, for 2 reasons:
1. We won't get proper exchange of ideas and discussions about improving public life if we use derogatory terms.
2. I find the snowflake analogy bewildering. I liked the Home-Start 'snowflake' campaign - because each child is unique and beautiful - but is has been subsumed by its use as a derogatory term.

Finding a way to be inclusive is very difficult. There is a middle ground between helping people to cope with the knocks & awkwardness of everyday life, and being sensitive and helpful.I come from robust stock and have brought my own children up to overcome difficulties rather than be knocked back by them. However, none of us have these crippling conditions.

I'd add that very few 'deaf' people have no hearing. Often their hearing is quite distorted, which is why certain noises can be overwhelming. My hearing impaired mother, when President of a local society asked people to 'clap quietly'. I don't think it occurred to any of us to find an alternative whilst she was alive.

Does anyone remember the lovely Children’s song “If you’re happy and you know it, Clap your Hands / Stamp your feet / Shout We Are”? Children have been singing and clapping this for generations to show how happy they are. It’s a sad reflection on society if we have to keep happiness and praise totally silent! Maybe a few people are affected by noise, but presumably they still have to cope with Mobile and ordinary phones ringing loudly (and unexpectedly), traffic noise, road works, loud aeroplanes overhead, noisy building sites, Police and emergency sirens etc etc. All are normal day to day noises, so a few moments of clapping can surely be coped with by anyone who is genuinely affected by whatever strategy they find suitable? We surely can’t all be expected to change a happy clapping habit of a lifetime, even centuries, just because some Uni person thinks it’s a “good idea”? After the stress of all the GCSEs and A levels Hype I would think most Uni students can cope with anything!

There's nowt as queer as folk, as they say.

Jazz hands in a theatre? Oh please! The cast wouldn't be able to see what the Audience was doing!

From experience I agree with you, lemongrove, gradually getting used to something aversive is a good way forward, most particularly with children. It is sometimes easier to manage the gradual exposure to more noisy places and bigger crowds for children. Some adults and children, some with perhaps a greater degree of Autism, have more difficulty. It is very difficult to know exactly what they experience because there appears to be a difference in the way sounds are recruited. It is measurable by a hearing test. It appears that some people actually experience pain.
I did try ear plugs for my people too, when I was involved with working with various anxieties, but it had mixed results for reasons of which I am not sure. Obviously those with hearing impairment will not benefit. Sudden loud sounds can be a problem for some hearing-impaired people.
Please do not keep saying "My DH/DGS etc. doesn't have trouble and he's..." because one example is just not going to tell you anything! There are many studies on thousands of adults and children with this problem, but as I said, it remains a very little-known disability.

I should say, I currently have no connection with anybody at Manchester University.

I do want to say, publicly, that I deeply respect the Manchester University Students Union's decision.

I think they probably didn't take it lightly and it is good to hear of young people showing concern for a minority with an unpleasant disability.

There are people with this disability who never manage to get used to it. Treatment is to try and gradually become more exposed to noisy places, but some people just cannot manage it. The reasons for this are not understood although the degree of suffering is obvious. We don't really understand everything about hearing and anxiety. When we go to sleep we seem to listen out for danger for longer than when we use our other senses to monitor our environment, for obvious reasons of course, but this may be a link to anxiety and hearing for example.

As I said, I am pleased to see that the Students are brave enough to risk derision in order to try and make life more comfortable for a few. Indeed it warms my heart and I am proud of them.

Surely the people who are deaf cannot hear the clapping anyway......

What next,using 'jazz hands' at the many theatres allover the world,instead of clapping for appreciation of a brilliant performance?Dont think it would go down so well at the Theatre Royal,or Royal Variety Performance?(Her Majesty would not be amused at having to do 'jazz hands' im sure)

After safe spaces et al this is just another ridiculous idea to come from students, all of whom appear to be afraid of anything and everything, or think the rest of them are. Where have they been up to now? Still in a womb it seems.

My youngest son suffers from hyperacussis- but his only 'kicks in' when hes feeling poorly- others suffer from it constantly- but it hurts his ears and gives him pain with loud noises,and he hears EVERYTHING loudly while its affecting him,even normal speaking.BUT EVEN HE THINKS ITS A STUPID IDEA.

Perhaps it is the X factor screaming and whistling that is hard for sensory and anxious people to cope with that goes with clapping lately.

Yes ear defenders also-but they are no good for the hyperacussis condition.

Oh yes saw that on GMB tv.if theres people who dislike loud noises(the clapping& whooping)theres many who dont-people with autism or ASD issues or hyperacussis(heightened hearing) for example then if theyre putting themselves willingly in such a situation then they could take precaution of using earplugs,or noise generators(for hyperacussis)to cope better- i doubt 'Jazz Hands' will make things better.It will just make them all look stupid,or childish,or both.(if it had been april 1st id have thought it was an april fools joke!