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Petition to make neurodiversity a separate protected characteristic in the UK

DragonCat16
over 5 years ago

I promised to do this a while ago, and now I'm finally getting around to it. The petition will be on petition.parliament.uk. The character counts are extremely limited, so it was difficult to provide the needed information in the available space. Please let me know what you think of the text below, because this is for all of us and not just me. Note that the information I have provided (see the links) is also from a government website, so they can't really refute that.

The title of the petition is:

Make neurodiversity a separate protected characteristic.

The background I have written is:

Neurodivergent individuals, e.g. those with autism or Tourette's, often suffer discrimination due to their condition, whether or not their condition amounts to a disabilty. Making neurodiversity a protected characteristic in itself, separate from disability, would be a step in the right direction.

Here are the additional details I have written:

Neurodivergent individuals are denied both fair treatment and mental health services at a higher rate than in the general population. As a result, the unemployment and suicide rates in the neurodivergent group are disproportionately higher as well. Presently, they are obliged to prove that their condition amounts to a disability in order to be legally protected from the discrimination and mistreatment to which they so often fall victim. Further info: tinyurl.com/y829k3oh & tinyurl.com/yavfxmod.

PS I need 5 emails addresses for supporters of the petition, so if anyone is a UK citizen and willing to "officially" support the petition, please PM me. I can likely get some from people I know, but maybe not all five that I need (I don't know many people).

Thanks.

(Edited based on comments received)

Parents
  • over 5 years ago
    DragonCat16 said:
    suffer mistreatment and bullying from others because of their condition, whether or not their condition amounts to a disabilty
    DragonCat16 said:
    make neurodiversity a protected characteristic in itself, separate from disability

    This seems rational. It's often not about disability, but manner or appearance or patience. I'm trying to think of objections, but most of them are themselves discriminatory.

    DragonCat16 said:
    Please sign to

    I'm not sure this is conventional language, as a petition should be addressed to the 'petitionee', not potential signatories.

    DragonCat16 said:
    Neurodivergent individuals, such as those on the autism spectrum,

    I'd prefer 'autistic people'. Would you also give a second example of a neurominority, such as people with Tourette Syndrome?

    'bullying' is mentioned three times. It might help if other facets are mentioned including communication style, discrimination at work or accessing mental health services.

    I'm not sure the links will be accepted, and you might need to reference the (useful) BPS and Autistic UK submissions by name.

    I don't think it conflicts with the 'mandatory training' petition, and I suppose might work together.

Reply
  • over 5 years ago
    DragonCat16 said:
    suffer mistreatment and bullying from others because of their condition, whether or not their condition amounts to a disabilty
    DragonCat16 said:
    make neurodiversity a protected characteristic in itself, separate from disability

    This seems rational. It's often not about disability, but manner or appearance or patience. I'm trying to think of objections, but most of them are themselves discriminatory.

    DragonCat16 said:
    Please sign to

    I'm not sure this is conventional language, as a petition should be addressed to the 'petitionee', not potential signatories.

    DragonCat16 said:
    Neurodivergent individuals, such as those on the autism spectrum,

    I'd prefer 'autistic people'. Would you also give a second example of a neurominority, such as people with Tourette Syndrome?

    'bullying' is mentioned three times. It might help if other facets are mentioned including communication style, discrimination at work or accessing mental health services.

    I'm not sure the links will be accepted, and you might need to reference the (useful) BPS and Autistic UK submissions by name.

    I don't think it conflicts with the 'mandatory training' petition, and I suppose might work together.

Children
  • over 5 years ago in reply to Cassandro

    Minor thing but I think "on the autism spectrum" is the most widely used term at the moment as well as the one with least objections within the community. I myself don't have any great opinion on it just thought I'd add that since I'd read it recently.

  • over 5 years ago in reply to Cassandro

    Thanks for your feedback. Sure, I'll make the edits to the original post, and once I do, please let me know if it's to your satisfaction. I was feeling really confined by the character limits, so I had to delete a lot of sentences and words in order for it to fit.