learning disability

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Anti-Bullying Week 2014 – Autism and Bullying – How can we stop bullying of people with learning disabilities?


Anti-Bullying Week 2014

Anti-Bullying Week 2014

As many readers will know this week sees us in Anti-Bullying Week 2014. While not, per se, a health issue it is , in fact, related closely to the objectives of the blog.

To explain , as you may know, I am the parent of an eight year old boy with autism. One of the things that worried us after his diagnosis was the idea that he would be bullied because of his autism.

In fact we have been very lucky. For the last couple of years he has been attending a ResourceBase unit for children with autism within the mainstream system. This means his fellow students in mainstream are aware of the nature of autism , take it in their stride, and so far neither her nor his friends in the ResourceBase has been on the receiving end of bullying. And , of course, we hope that it stays this way!

But that is , sadly, not true of so many people with learning disabilities. The aim of this blog is two-fold. Firstly to try and discover the extent of bullying of people with learning disabilities and, as importantly, to provide our readers with an opportunity to share how they dealt with such bullying.

Please use the comments section below to share your thoughts on the subject. You might want to think in terms of the following questions:-

a) What is your main learning disability?
b) Have you ever been bullied because of your learning of other disability?
c) Where did the bullying take place and in what context?
d) How was the bullying dealt with by you and any authorities?
e) What one piece of advice would you give to somebody who is being bullied?

Thanks very much in advance for sharing.  Please note that we are also very interested in the views of parents and caregivers on the subject!

For more information on Anti-Bullying Week 2014 please go to their website here.


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Noonan syndrome- What are the signs and symptoms of Noonan syndrome?

Genetic counseling - have you had it or would you consider it?

Genetic counseling – have you had it or would you consider it?

A few weeks ago on one of our Facebook groups a reader asked a question about Noonan syndrome.  I’m ashamed to say I had never heard of Noonan syndrome so I thought it would be very useful to run an informational blog on the subject for our readers.  The aim is to just to give a little assistance to raise awareness of this condition so I’d be grateful if you could share the link to this blog post with family and friends,.

First up it is genetic in origin.  Like any syndrome it has a “constellation” of symptoms so no one person will display exactly the same features of the condition.  It is worth noting that most but not all cases of Noonan syndrome will be picked up at birth.  The prevalence is unclear but sources I’ve read suggest between 1 in 1000 and 1 in 2500 births are of children with Noonan.  This would put it at a similar level to Down’s syndrome.

But typically most people with Noonan syndrome will have:-

  • Heart defects – these will be present at birth
  • Drooping eyelids and other facial features
  • Generally shorter in height

Other symptoms may include:-

  • Learning disabilities
  • Decreased muscle tone
  • Increased bruising and bleeding
  • Eye conditions such as lazy eye and astigmatism

The key issue, as far as prognosis goes, with Noonan syndrome is that of the congenital (i.e. at birth) heart defects.  The good news is that most children born with the condition will live to full adulthood and go on to lead independent lives.

Typically treatments are not aimed at the condition itself but at the specific symptoms they present.

Obviously this is a rare condition and we would love some feedback from people with Noonan or their caregivers.

Please can you think about the following areas:-

a)   What are your main symptoms?

b)  What sort of treatments have you received?

c)    How old were you when you got your diagnosis?

d)  Have you faced discrimination because of Noonan syndrome?

Feel free to add any links you many find of interest.  Thanks very much in advance.

For further information on the condition why not go to http://www.noonansyndrome.org.uk/what-is-noonan-syndrome/ if you are based in the UK.  Alternatively this US site may be of value http://www.noonansyndrome.org/.