Intelligence, Asperger's Syndrome, and Learning Disabilities at MIT
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bgrh
Registered: 08/06/03
Posts: 76
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Reply with quote | #1 |
Promoting a Civilized Environment
Thanks to the GT-Special List Serve
We find a board works best when everyone treats everyone else with respect. Below are a few guidelines designed to make this message board a safe environment for discussing often difficult issues. We created this list because we needed a safe place where we could discuss the special issues we face. For this reason, there are a few special rules for this list:
1. Posters may not question the existence of any of the special challenges faced by our members. While they may respectfully question whether a particular label truly fits a particular child, readers must keep in mind that those closest to the situation know a lot more about it then will ever be revealed in an message board discussion group, and as such we will accept the family as the final authority on what diagnoses are appropriate for any child.
Examples:
It is not acceptable to write "There's no such thing as ADD. This is just an attempt by the schools to medicate children into compliance."
It is acceptable to write "Has your child been evaluated by a clinician? Your description of her classroom problems sound a lot like behaviors often seen in gifted children who are unchallenged and bored."
It is not acceptable to write "Any kid that can't read by age 9 can't possibly be gifted, this dyslexia stuff is just an excuse."
It is acceptable to write "Research shows that many children diagnosed with dyslexia quickly learn to read when taught by ____ methods, you might want to give them a try."
2. Posters may not attack other list members for their choices of treatment for their children, although they may suggest that certain treatments are worth looking into or that there may be alternatives to current treatments being used.
Examples:
It is not acceptable to write: "Using medications on a child is a horrible thing to do. No caring parent would drug their kid just to placate the school."
It is acceptable to write: "Have you tried using the behavioral methods in the book by ____? Some of these sound like they might be helpful for the problems you are describing."
It is not acceptable to write "Allowing your child to use a computer or tape recorder to get through written assignments is unfair to all the other kids and just encourages laziness."
It is acceptable to write "We found that skipping straight to cursive eliminated a lot of the barriers that were seemingly insurmountable with printing."
3. We don't flame here. Most of us have to deal with plenty of disrespect elsewhere... here we are trying to help one another. Because support doesn't always mean saying "I agree", it's important to phrase challenges in such a way that it is clear that it is not the worth of the writer you are questioning, but rather the validity of the idea.
What is a flame? It is important to recognize that to disagree respectfully, or to politely request a change of behavior, is not to "flame". The following is NOT a flame:
"Has your child been tested using IQ and achievement tests? Many gifted kids show ADD-like symptoms if they are in a classroom setting where they are bored and required to do work well below their capabilities."
This is a flame:
"Listen you jerk - how can you be so stupid and listen to the school idiots tell you your kid has ADD when you haven't bothered to get testing done?!? If you'd bothered to read the FAQ you wouldn't be doing such stupid things."
The board will be a much more effective resource for all of us if we endeavor to keep it flame-free.
In addition to the "rules of engagement" outlined above, we are sharing the GT-World guidelines:
Every list evolves its own culture over time. One of the best ways to make a good impression in a new venue is to spend some time "reading the room" to get a feel for the place. Take some time to read the posts over a few days, then please write a little note to introduce yourself to us!
Remember that a message board is a highly public forum. Please think twice before divulging information which you would feel uncomfortable mentioning in a restaurant or other public place where anyone could overhear you. While our member agreement outlines acceptable use for the information on this list, it is possible for anyone, with any motivation, to join the board and read our posts.
To the extent we are successful in creating a friendly, helpful atmosphere, we are likely to attract people you know in real life...neighbors, teachers and friends. Once you've been around for a while, the Internet quickly ceases to be a place where you are truly anonymous. For this reason, you need to take the same responsibility for the things you say here as you would anywhere else.
We recommend including your name and e-mail address in the member profile to make it simpler for people to communicate privately with you via e-mail. We also encourage including the state or province you live in, because it helps people find others who are covered by the same local laws.
It's important to remember that each of us speaks only from our own experience and reading. What works for some families does not work for all. Each reader is responsible for evaluating the information presented here in terms of the credibility of the source and the applicability to the reader's own situation.
Please don't post the following to this board:
1) Warnings about e-mail viruses. For more information on these and other hoaxes, see http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html
2) Chain letters (in ANY form)
3) Blatantly commercial messages (although where relevant to a discussion, please feel free to mention specific products you have found useful).
EXPECTED LISTMEMBER CONDUCT
Confidentiality: Many of the issues discussed on this board are of a sensitive nature. Any information posted here concerning a particular individual shall not be discussed outside of the list without the permission of that individual or their parent/guardian. Anyone violating this will be immediately removed from the board membership.
All posts to the board remain the copyrighted work of their individual authors. With the exception of "fair use" applications, such as quoted material included to clarify replies, no posts may be reproduced in whole or in part in any medium without the express written permission of the author. This includes reproducing or forwarding any part of a list post in private e-mail to non- listmembers. And please do not, under any circumstances, post private e-mail to this list.
This board is maintained for the benefit of the MIT community with an interest in Autistic Spectrum Disorders, giftedness, gifted children with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, and/other neurological challenges. While lively discussion is expected and encouraged, members will maintain a tone which is constructive of community and respectful of fellow members. Posts which appear to be destructive of community will result in revocation of membership. The board owner is empowered to revoke list membership at his/her discretion.
Listmembers understand that information exchanged on the board is the product of anecdotal individual experience and in no way represents professional advice. Board members implement strategies suggested on the board at their own risk.'
LISTMEMBER AGREEMENT
By remaining a member of this message board, you demonstrate that you have agreed to the above conditions. If these conditions are not acceptable to you, then you must immediately unsubscribe from the board by sending e-mail requesting removal from the board to bgrh at mac dot com.
The board owner reserves the right to terminate this board at any time, for any reason. |
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