Dr. Hilary Cass - report re trans.

I am going to stick my head above the parapet here and agree with Glorianny. As a teacher in a mainstream school in the ‘80s we were told, by the LA Special Needs Adviser, not to use the term dyslexia but to say specific reading difficulties. Yes, it seems unbelievable today, but 50 years ago dyslexic was not accepted, by many, as actually existing. Arguably, the current trans issue is at that stage now. I expect this option will enrage posters. I read the personal ‘venom’ with which some people address Glorianny because they disagree with her. The current trans threads on GN are extremely one-sided (apart from Glorianny) - I believe there are others who wish to express differing views but do not want to be personally attacked. The trans debate has become toxic IMO, and the people who will suffer will be the youngsters stuck in the middle of it all.

Puberty blockers come with serious side effects/consequences

Infertility
Risk of blood clots
Weight gain
Acne
Dyslipidaemia
Elevated liver enzyme’s
Polycythaemia
Hair los

I for one do not think any of the above are acceptable risks.

Perhaps a new thread on the topic of dyslexia would be a good idea, Glorianny, and then the discussion of the Cass report wouldn't be diluted.

Doodledog

Smileless2012

I hope if any parents do take their children out of the UK for help, they do plenty of research. That said I hope that they digest this report in full and are led by the common sense information provided.

I hope so too. I have only seen the headlines and heard a bit of discussion about it, but regardless of what the finer points turn out to be I think it would be foolish to ignore a detailed report in favour of ideology.

👏👏👏

Smileless2012

I hope if any parents do take their children out of the UK for help, they do plenty of research. That said I hope that they digest this report in full and are led by the common sense information provided.

I hope so too. I have only seen the headlines and heard a bit of discussion about it, but regardless of what the finer points turn out to be I think it would be foolish to ignore a detailed report in favour of ideology.

I do think there are some similarities between the attitude to dyslexia which existed in government and some professional education bodies and the attitude to trans issues now.
It didn't have such a huge impact as trans issues have (although the percentage of people imprisoned in the UK who are dyslexic is very high, so there is impact)
But the shifting of opinions, the blaming of parents, the refusal to deal with the issue are all similar.

Dyslexia brain research in the 1980s led to a real change in attitude. Let's hope somewhere someone is conducting some similar research which will help families and transchildren.

Callistemon21

.^ It meant if you could afford to pay your child would get the help they needed.^

Nope. It was not private.

Because you had a poor experience doesn't mean it happened everywhere.

But it wasn't mainstream was it?
It was UK education policy- hence the Warnock report. Hence "specific reading difficulties" Hence "a middle-class problem".
Really Callistemon21 One teacher in one area not in a school isn't evidence that it was widely accepted.

I hope if any parents do take their children out of the UK for help, they do plenty of research. That said I hope that they digest this report in full and are led by the common sense information provided.

I agree, easybee. I know that dyslexia and ADD are often linked, and am pleased that as knowledge advances more things can be taken into account, and children treated accordingly. However, that is not relevant to my comment, which was about the phraseology so often used by young children, specifically 'in the wrong body', which I think has to be being parroted, as otherwise they would all use different expressions.

I apologise for repeating this over and over, but I am so fed up with the tactic of picking up on a small point and using it to divert the conversation away from questions which are difficult or awkward. How many posts have there been about dyslexia on this thread, which is about the Cass report?

Apologies for adding to the thread derailment but:
As a SENCO in a state school I was supporting children with dyslexia in the late seventies and in our LA we were working with a specialist Educational Psychologis, the Dyslexia Association and peripatetic teachers. I then became an adviser and worked with a Paediatrician with specialist knowledge of dyspraxia in the late 8Os, as the condition was increasingly recognised in our schools. Having had the opportunity to work on a wide regional basis I know from experience, that while provision in LAs varied, there was also a great deal of knowledge and support available.
To return to the topic, I am pleased to see that such a compassionate, informed and pragmatic report is now available to those working in this difficult area.

.^ It meant if you could afford to pay your child would get the help they needed.^

Nope. It was not private.

Because you had a poor experience doesn't mean it happened everywhere.

I absolutely agree, Doodledog about dyslexia and the recognition thereof, but the term has been used to cover so many discrepancies and diversions in the understanding of the teaching of reading. ADHD and Autism are going the same way, hence the huge waiting lists for a diagnosis, which will then, they believe, solve everything.
I am concerned about professional people who have been driven from their posts by sticking to the facts in the trans-person debate, and those who have paid lip-service to the ideology for fear of retribution. It is very obvious from the comments and interviews I have seen in the past few hours that the trans lobby will refuse to accept the evidence and continue to put up a vicious fight.

Callistemon21

^Callistemon21 thinks schools accepted it 60 years ago. They didn't.^
Presumably not in your area.

Do stop or I will report you.

Report me.
I've posted a quote about the Warnock report on Special Education where she was told not to use the term. I can post links and quotes about the use of the term "specific reading difficulties" which I was instructed to use when I qualified.
I can post links to articles that deny dyslexia.
You knew one person who worked outside mainstream education and dealt with dyslexia. That doesn't mean children in mainstream education were diagnosed or helped. They were not.

Callistemon21

GrannyGravy13

One of our sons was diagnosed mid 80’s with dyslexia.

Glorianny I imagine it differed from area to area then as it does now.

I worked with a teacher who specialised in children with dyslexia.
That was not in a school and it was in the 1960s.

However, it's not worth discussing with Glorianny as her own truth is always absolute.
🙂

As I said there was some provision out side mainstream ed. But that doesn't mean it was recognised or dealt with. It meant if you could afford to pay your child would get the help they needed.

I wonder how many parents of trans children with money will take their children out of the UK for help?

Callistemon21 thinks schools accepted it 60 years ago. They didn't.
Presumably not in your area.

Do stop or I will report you.

GrannyGravy13

Glorianny

Callistemon21

Sorry Callistemon21 you are so wrong

Sorry, Glorianny, if you had that experience in your area.

However, I am not wrong.

Oh but you are. The term "dyslexia" was not used or accepted in schools in the 1960s and 70s. We were told to use the term "specific reading difficulties". As anyone with any experience of dyslexia knows the difficulties are much more complex. The perception of many in education and government was that this was a term used by middle class parents to excuse their thick kids.If you have evidence to the contrary please post it. I have no doubt that there were clinics and people dealing with the problem in certain places, but any idea that the condition was recognised or dealt with in mainstream education is completely wrong. It was denied and ignored.

A term used by middle class parents to excuse their thick kids

Wow, just wow…

I know. But it was a view many in education took. And it was something that was widely said at the time. Seems awful now.

GrannyGravy13

One of our sons was diagnosed mid 80’s with dyslexia.

Glorianny I imagine it differed from area to area then as it does now.

I worked with a teacher who specialised in children with dyslexia.
That was not in a school and it was in the 1960s.

However, it's not worth discussing with Glorianny as her own truth is always absolute.
🙂

I really wasn't going to get involved in this diversion, but my original comment was that 'being in the wrong body' didn't exist as a concept when I was at school or when my children were. My daughter is dyslexic, so I am very well aware that it was known about then (she is 30 now). In fact it was so well known that there was a central service for dyslexic students at my workplace before she was born.

However. This is not the point, which was that the phrasing of 'in the wrong body' is clearly from the same playbook as 'authentic selves', 'what's in their pants', and so on, or it would be expressed in different ways by different children. As I reiterated that more than once, I would have thought it was clear, and that there is no link with the knowledge or otherwise of conditions such as dyslexia in the past, which is just a diversion.

GrannyGravy13

One of our sons was diagnosed mid 80’s with dyslexia.

Glorianny I imagine it differed from area to area then as it does now.

The 80's was when it was first accepted in schools. Even then many children were not being tested and many teachers had zero knowledge of the condition. I thought at the time that it was simply a matter of working harder to teach the child. It took me a long time to realise the severity of the condition in some people. Callistemon21 thinks schools accepted it 60 years ago. They didn't.

I could not care less what people do with their own bodies as long as the NHS isn't paying for it. Some of these people who want to change sex need to think carefully about it because I have yet to see a male that has changed into a female look like a female and vice versa.

I totally agree with you.

Glorianny

Callistemon21

Sorry Callistemon21 you are so wrong

Sorry, Glorianny, if you had that experience in your area.

However, I am not wrong.

Oh but you are. The term "dyslexia" was not used or accepted in schools in the 1960s and 70s. We were told to use the term "specific reading difficulties". As anyone with any experience of dyslexia knows the difficulties are much more complex. The perception of many in education and government was that this was a term used by middle class parents to excuse their thick kids.If you have evidence to the contrary please post it. I have no doubt that there were clinics and people dealing with the problem in certain places, but any idea that the condition was recognised or dealt with in mainstream education is completely wrong. It was denied and ignored.

A term used by middle class parents to excuse their thick kids

Wow, just wow…

One of our sons was diagnosed mid 80’s with dyslexia.

Glorianny I imagine it differed from area to area then as it does now.

Callistemon21

^Sorry Callistemon21 you are so wrong^

Sorry, Glorianny, if you had that experience in your area.

However, I am not wrong.

Oh but you are. The term "dyslexia" was not used or accepted in schools in the 1960s and 70s. We were told to use the term "specific reading difficulties". As anyone with any experience of dyslexia knows the difficulties are much more complex. The perception of many in education and government was that this was a term used by middle class parents to excuse their thick kids.If you have evidence to the contrary please post it. I have no doubt that there were clinics and people dealing with the problem in certain places, but any idea that the condition was recognised or dealt with in mainstream education is completely wrong. It was denied and ignored.

Sorry Callistemon21 you are so wrong

Sorry, Glorianny, if you had that experience in your area.

However, I am not wrong.