Is Supernanny ableist? Jo Frost and Autism

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Supernanny and autism

Jo Frost (Aka Supernanny) has recently come under fire by parents and individuals after her latest statement. Many people are calling Supernanny ignorant and ableist. 

As someone who has many 'abcd labels', each diagnosis is important to me and understanding myself. Referring to a diagnosis as a letter of the alphabet invalidates the importance and weight they hold. Let's look at supernanny's stance on autism and why the comments she made are so detrimental.    

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Does Jo Frost recognise Autsim?

The amount of children Jo Frost has failed herself is ridiculous. If you’ve watched super nanny and have any knowledge of ND, you’ll know. 

A scene that really sticks out to me is when she was making a child eat more than just custard creams by restricting. The poor child (who may I add is not even 'naughty'), is physically sick after eating some bread. 

If you have an autistic child, you’ll know the importance of their safe foods. You’ll also know, that taking away their safe foods like that can be really detrimental. I was that child, being 

I've watched super nanny over the years & so many of the children and their parents, are clearly neurodiverse and aren’t having their needs met… which is why they’re at crisis point.

Supernanny believes ADHD = naughty

It’s a very outdated statement and belief. When I was at school neurodiverse = naughty boy. Girls didn’t have ADHD or Autism.

For every 4 boys 1 girl had adhd. Did you know that adhd is actually equally split between girls and boys? It’s just portrayed differently then what we originally believed. 

Presentations of ADHD in girls include:

• Daydreaming 
• Hypersensitive
• Extremely shy OR
• Very Chatty 
• Overthinking 
• Tearful 
• Forgetful 

Our knowledge of what ADHD is has completely shifted in the last few years. Whereas, Jo Frost appears to still believe the outdated narrative that ADHD = naughty boys. 

Supernanny says we are in a rush to label

Hmmm do we? Or do we want to have access to the right help & support our struggling children desperately need?

I’m not old. I finished school in 2014. I got through primary school, 2 secondary schools, 2 colleges, university and countless therapists… and not one person picked up that I was neurodiverse. Now I didn’t sail through these establishments, I school refused, my mental health hit crisis point so many times. I finally got diagnosed at 22 and it was life changing. So much so, that my mental health has never been better. Finally I know who I am & why I think things, do things a certain way etc

If anyone needed a ‘label’ sooner it was me. But I, and so many others, slipped through the net, like so many others. 

This is also a great oppurtunity to talk about the importance and validation of self-diagnosis. Unfortunately, the NHS is in a crisis and waiting lists are cripplingly long. Not everyone has the financial support to access a private diagnosis either. I was self diagnosed for a few months until I got my official diagnosis. 

Don't discount yourself

Shockingly, it is now estimated 45-50% of people are neurodiverse. That’s you or your partner, your mum, your dad, your nan. People are so quick to assume to judge when they themselves could just be undiagnosed. I’ve also found (in my experience), that the people with the biggest opinions & disregard to ND are usually neurodiverse themselves.

I could say so much more. But the fact she’s just regarded all diagnosis by comparing it to Abcd’ is not ok. This is a huge hit for our community & just continues to reinforce the horrible stereotypes and stigma.

Jo Frost adds to the autism stigma

I have only been openly autistic for just over a year now. Having my kind of platform means I experience trolls often! Although, you may be shocked to hear the worst comments about my autism were from friends and family.

One of the life defining moments for me was when a friend told me my diagnosis is "just an excuse for lazy people" (needless to say they are not a friend anymore). I am confident enough (now) to advocate for myself. But it shocks me on a daily basis, how much I need to educate people. The stigma surrounding autism is rife, and comments like this from Jo Frost, who is supposed to be the childhood expert, will only reinforce people's stigmatised beliefs and makes life harder for us. 

Read more Neurodiveristy blog posts here

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