Greetings,
I just saw this on the news a minute ago - they mentioned Debbie Storey and her battle with social services but they said that she had been too scared to go to the doctors about her back pain / cancer for fear of losing her children. As those of you who are familiar with the case know, this is not true. She went to doctors and they repeatedly ignored her and told her things like her pain was exaggerated because of her AS.
I just saw a brief clip of it and they seemed to say that her family were complaining about her fear of going to doctors.
I do know myself that she was asking doctors for help and trying to be taken seriously.
So I'm not sure if the news have misunderstood the situation or their is confusion. Its hard to say.
Either way I hope that changes will be made to how aspies and auties with kids are treated.
I just saw a brief clip of it and they seemed to say that her family were complaining about her fear of going to doctors. I do know myself that she was asking doctors for help and trying to be taken seriously.
So I'm not sure if the news have misunderstood the situation or their is confusion. Its hard to say.
Either way I hope that changes will be made to how aspies and auties with kids are treated.
Hello Amy & Co.
I wanted to comment on this, seeing as I have some knowledge about this which may help to clarify the situation.
After Debbie left Aspergian Island, she joined FAM Secret Society. Shortly afterwards, Debbie became a moderator on FAM Family Forum. Together on that forum, I, Inger, Debbie and Wendi Triplet Mom worked to:
1) Give Debbie a voice regarding the complications she was enduring regarding the care of her children, and
2) Assist other parents and relatives with bridging the gap between themselves and their AS children and relations.
Inger and I both had written correspondance and chats with Debbie regarding forum related business and personal issues, and her husband and I have exchanged very brief e-mails on occassion.
Debbie's posts to FAM Family Forum and to certain other FAM forums speak for themselves, and one of the things they are emphatic about is that Debbie constantly felt differently than this glossy statement by Essex Council in today's article would indicate:
"We are aware that Mrs Storey was sometimes unhappy with what we were able to offer but we worked very hard to understand and respond to the complex circumstances of the family."
I will say no more than that as it could complicate matters for her husband and family. (Possibly there are still issues pending between the parties involved.) But given what I know, suffice it to say that I am furious with Essex Council for trying to make it seem as though they were...hard workers.
I can also say that Debbie did indicate, in various posts to certain FAM boards, that doctors did not regard her medical ailments and complaints as seriously as they should have because of her AS, and the implication that she feared that Essex Council might proceed to work against her if she persisted in seeking the help she needed, was evident.
Tom
Hi Tom, it is so tragic how Debbie was treated. We do have a thread of condolences too.
I later managed to see the whole story on ITN news. It didn't mention that doctors didn't take her seriously, but obviously they only have time to touch on certain elements of her story.
They did make it clear that she felt let down and afraid of social services, and that they seemed to have little understanding of autism and aspergers.
I hope that they will seriously look at their policies now at least for social services in that area, if not for the whole country.
...they said that she had been too scared to go to the doctors about her back pain / cancer for fear of losing her children...
This is the same as the article that appeared in the Daily Mail yesterday.
Its strange that quite a lot of sources of information are getting the facts wrong.
Its strange that quite a lot of sources of information are getting the facts wrong.
That's not surprising. There appears to be an increasing trend in the media for inaccuracy; sometimes it appears to be just incompetence, at other times the result of the dumbed-down version of events not being able to do justice to the complexity of an issue.
Best policy is to never believe what you read in the paper, or see on the TV, unless multiple other sources corroborate the details given.
Best policy is to never believe what you read in the paper, or see on the TV, unless multiple other sources corroborate the details given.
Isn't that the point though - multiple sources have corroborated the details but they're all wrong!?
:?:
Its a bit like chinease wispers.
They get a few details, And try to some up the best they can with it. And of course in this story they have missed quite a few things.
Greetiings,
Judging from what I've seen from the local stuff here being covered in the papers, the level of incompetence is absolutely phenomenal. It is clear to me that they have absolutely no regard for the truth. If they dont have a certain piece of information then they will make it up and print it even if it is totally wrong. If they have to reword something in such a way that it looks better / more sensational and have to completely destroy the facts to do it then they will. I have seen this happen.
Best policy is to never believe what you read in the paper, or see on the TV, unless multiple other sources corroborate the details given.
Isn't that the point though - multiple sources have corroborated the details but they're all wrong!?
:?:
Well Chris, it depends what weight you attach to each source. For example, if the Sun, Mirror and Sport all reported on an incident, that wouldn't carry as much weight as, say, the Telegraph or Guardian. Also, by "other sources" I'd include the internet, books and other publications. I'd certainly not rely solely on a newspaper or TV news channel. It's a case of using your judgement.
But, I concede, it's not always easy knowing what to believe, and you do have a valid point.