There are some phrases and words used unnecessarily that I really can't stand. Here's just a selection. Does anyone else have any favourites?
- Does my bleedin' head in
- I'm thick and I make Homer Simpson look intelligent.
- Can't get my head round it
- I'm still thick er than Homer
- Innit
- The verbal equivalent to a stabbing at the end of a sentence.
- Like
- "Like" at the beginning of a sentence is the verbal equivalent of putting the car into gear when
you're driving an automatic.
- "Like" at the end of a sentence is almost an "Innit", but more like a slap with a wet fish than a
stabbing.
- Y'know
- Putting the car into gear again, forgetting that we're actually riding a bike.
- The Australian Rising Inflection. A question mark at the end of every sentence?
- One of the most annoying imports from Australia. Neighbours has so much to answer for!
- It never rains but it pours
- Yes it does. It's called drizzle.
- There's no smoke without fire.
- Yes there is. It's called smoke. There may be fire without smoke too.
- Ok, Mate!
- I hate being called Mate, especially by people I don't know. It's a special trait among barmen, who have to go on Mate training courses so they can appear all Chummy and Matey to people they're going to short measure and short change.
- They!
- Who are THEY? They run the country, our local councils, make all the decisions that rule our lives and yet no one knows who THEY are, and they get away with it completely. Mind you THEY organise our rubbish collections and sort out all the nasties for us on a day to day basis so we don't have to get involved. But I can't help wondering who THEY are!
- Have you had you 5 A Day?
- One of the most annoying and meaningless government "nanny statements" ever. Worse, it's gone world-wde. We have our 5 a Day, Japan has 10 a Day and Scotland has its 1 a Day.... a chip!
In fact the 5 A Day slogan was invented by aNew York fruit 'n veg merchant whose business
doing badly, sdo to encourage people he put his "Have You Had Your 5 A Day" notice in his shop window. A passing NY civil servant saw it and had the idea of inflicting yet another piece of child-like nannyism on our lives.
- Our wonderful NHS is the finest in the world.
- The idea an concept of the NHS is. Free treatment at the point it's needed, regardless of race, colour, creed and wealth is fundamentally perfect. The dedicated professionals who train for years so they can work long hours to keep is alive are incredible. So what makes me angry about it? The highly centralised burocracy and overloaded management structure is crippling the system with meaningless targets and scales. Big is not beautiful.
I had an ankle injury in June and saw my GP the next day. He made an appointment for me to see the consultant in July, which I thought was pretty good, until I saw it was for the following year. I went private and saw the consultant 2 days later. Some years later I had a knee injury and again saw my GP who sent me to the hospital, where over a period of nearly 2 years I had X-rays, MRI scans, consultancies with various specialists. I was even told to take up dance classes as a form of therapy. Again, I went private and the following week had an arthroscopy to clear out smashed bits of cartilege and sow up a nicked cruciate ligament.
My wife suffered months of gall bladder stone agony, when the NHS refused to operate, or do anything except monitor her pain. After more than 6 months of A&E visits she agreed to go private and the consultant whipped her gall bladder out the next day. It was so disceased it was on the point of bursting. She also lost 1/3 of her stomach because the NHS took 2 years running tests and trying to persuade her it was all in her head. Had they operated initially she would have lost a tiny bit of gut tubing in a cut and shunt operation.
One of the NHS lists is about which hospital kills the post patients, either on the operating table, in waiting to be treated, or in post-op care through infections such as MRSA.
- "If ther's one film you see this year....!"
- Usually means if there's one film you should avoid it's this one. Or it means the studio hired some horrendously expensive actors and is desperate to make SOME of their money back.
- "From the people who brought you...!"
- Another film to avoid.
- "And the award for the Best ***** goes to....."
If it's an oscar it's to a film that hasn't been released in the UK yet and the srudio needs UK revenues and is prepared to spend big marketing bucks.
- "Welcome to....Dancing on Thin Ice!"
- If only!
- "I'm a Celebrity... but no one's heard of me!"
- What it should really be called.
- "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
- Stupid bloody question!
Friday, 31 January 2014
Friday, 10 January 2014
Attachment Disorder
The following article was written by Ronnie Young for Special Children magazine and is printed with her kind permission.
The target audience was classroom teachers, however what Ronnie says is highly relevant to everyone, whether you realise it, or not.
====================================================================
"The relationship doesn’t have to be
perfect to create a good bond"
"Consistency and predictability are
essential"
"Empathise, but do not pity the child"
Attachment disorder
Ronnie Young outlines what it is, the signs to look out for and how to support children with the condition
Do you have anyone in your classes
who displays many of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
but only intermittently? Do you teach someone who appears to be on the autistic
spectrum but is very manipulative? Have you come across a pupil who doesn't
respond to behaviour management policies that work perfectly well with most of
their peers? Could they have attachment disorder (AD)?
Attachment disorder is not new and was first recorded in the
early 1950s. It is now appearing more frequently in our schools, however, yet
not many members of staff will have heard of it, and fewer still will
understand what it entails.
One thing that sets it apart from other special needs is the
root cause. This is a condition created, not by nature, but by nurture.
Attachment: a basic human need
It is commonly seen in children whose home lives are
inconsistent, who receive inadequate parenting or who are looked after,
especially if they have been moved from caregiver to caregiver. It can also
develop in children who have loving parents but who were advised by
professionals to ‘let the baby cry’ – for example, children who had colic or
glue ear as babies.
Brain development
The brain processes information by forming networks of neurons which
communicate with one another via electrical and chemical signals. The junctions
which allow this to happen are called synapses. These begin to be formed
before birth and proliferate at an astonishing rate after a child is born,
creating far more than will ever be needed in adulthood. Neural connections
that prove surplus to requirements are gradually eliminated during childhood
and adolescence.
Synapses capture experiences which help humans to adapt to
their environment and are an essential a survival tool. When they are
stimulated through repeated experiences, they grow stronger and stabilise,
while those that receive no stimulation become weaker and may eventually be
discarded: the use-it or lose-it principle. Hence the architecture of a child’s
brain is determined by what happens to them during the first five years of
life.
The first circuits in the brain to be ‘wired’ are those that
process basic information. If these lower-level circuits are not wired properly,
this will impede the development of higher-level capabilities, such as memory,
emotional literacy and abstract thought. As the child grows older and brain
circuits stabilise, it becomes more difficult to alter them and hard-wired
behaviours become more resistant to change.
Early experiences are therefore uniquely important in establishing
brain circuitry. Nurturing and responsive relationships will build a healthy
brain architecture that provides a strong foundation for learning, behaviour
and health. However, when relationships are not protective, elevated levels of
stress hormones interfere with the formation of healthy neural circuits,
further hampering brain development.
Four main conditions
Attachment disorder is a spectrum
condition ranging from difficulties forming trusting and/or loving
relationships to a complex psychiatric disorder.
There are four main types: avoidant, anxious, ambivalent and
neurologically disorganised attachment disorder.
Avoidant AD
These are the tough guys who don’t
care, whose predominant emotion is sadness, related to a significant sense of
loneliness. They will do everything they can to stop feeling sad and the safest
way is to be in emotional denial. They believe they can care for all their own
needs by themselves and do not need other people, especially their mothers (or
mother figures).
Although they may be superficially engaging, their emotions
lack depth and they do not enjoy being around others because they don’t feel
safe. This can lead them to appear condescending and aloof, or they might be
sullen and openly oppositional in a passive-aggressive way. Some may resort to
direct physical aggression in order to create distance.
Physical and emotional closeness is viewed as too dangerous
by these children because they can't bear the consequences if it all goes wrong
and they may perceive adult efforts to promote closer ties as malicious.
They are terrified of anything that may trigger sadness, and
will minimise the chances of this by, for example, using nuisance behaviours to
create tension or doing tasks slowly to provoke frustration in others. Tension
and anger always feel better than sadness. They are liable to mutter
unintelligibly to create irritation and block the sadness, but such behaviour
usually means that sadness has been stirred.
Managing avoidant AD
Leave the child alone, especially if
they need space. Never force closeness, even if you feel they need comfort. Always
ask permission. Understand that physical contact may be met with stiffness,
flinching or pulling away and don’t take it personally.
Create trust by being totally predictable and consistent, and
wait for the child to take the lead. If they get angry, give them space to calm
down rather than punishing them, which will destroy any trust you have established.Anxious AD
Terrified of rejection and
abandonment, children with this type of attachment disorder have an inner
emptiness and sense of not existing. They work constantly to protect themselves
from rejection and strive to confirm their existence is by seeking attention
from others. They crave emotional and physical closeness to calm their inner
terror, although they do not understand human relationships.
Their behaviour stems from real experience of abandonment.
They may have been deserted by their parents, or grown up in an environment
where they were consistently ignored or scapegoated. Terror lurks continually, and
they tend to be over clingy and exhibit extreme separation anxiety when very young.
These children often do well in school because this is a way
of getting teachers to like them. On the other hand, they also have a poor
understanding of teasing, sarcasm and banter and can take offence or see
insults where none are intended. Indeed, they often take criticism at face
value and so give up.
Managing anxious AD
Consistency and predictability are essential so they understand
that even if you have to make a negative comment about their work, it is only
to improve it.
Social skills groups of the type provided for children on
the autistic spectrum can help them learn how to behave in conformist ways.
Ambivalent AD
The thinking here is, ‘If you are
hurt by me it is your fault for being in my way.’ These children believe that
other people do not matter and they should take what they want because nobody
is going to give it to them. Other people are just resources to be exploited
and their feelings and needs are irrelevant.
Children with ambivalent AD are angry and defiant, maybe
violent, and their condition is sometimes misdiagnosed as oppositional defiant
disorder or conduct disorder. They are almost incapable of giving or receiving
affection, but will use it if they want something.
They see touch as meaningless and are explicit in telling
others to get away from them. They are destructive to their own and others’
belongings and tend to sabotage or destroy anything positive that happens to
them. They have few friends, if any, because they inflict hurt on their peers
and lack empathy, often showing cruelty.
Unlike children with other conditions, they understand the
impact of their behaviour on those around them but do not care. They derive
excitement from risk-taking regardless of the inherent dangers and are often
interested by gore, fire and death. If untreated, this affinity may develop
into sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies.
People with this condition may get suspended as early as
pre-school because of their destructive behaviours. They are deliberate
underachievers – the lower the expectations, the less they have to do. Many are
classed as having low ability or special educational needs although in reality some
are extremely able.
Neurologically disorganised AD
These children are psychologically
damaged and display an often bizarre variety of symptoms. Their attachment
difficulties are secondary to their neurological impairment, and their
behaviour is often unrelated to the situation at hand.
Other issues that may affect them include foetal alcohol or
substance syndrome, poor pre-natal nutrition, significant prematurity, post-natal
neglect or abuse, and genetically inherited disorders.
They are susceptible to auditory hallucinations (which they
often deny) and learning difficulties caused by neurological damage. They may
be bipolar and their behaviour often shifts in form, leaving teachers forever
chasing new problems.
Their overwhelming, chaotic anxiety can lead to disordered
thinking, which may regress to psychotic levels. Their speech is frequently
tangential and sprinkled with distorted syntax and neologisms, although they
are often unaware of this.
They may feel remorse about their behaviour but since it is
driven by anxiety and neurological fragility, this will not affect how they
behave in future. Because they are oblivious to boundaries and personal space,
they tend to be intrusive, which can make them socially isolated.
Managing ambivalent and neurologically disorganised AD
If you suspect either of these two conditions,
a referral for psychological assessment is imperative. It is essential these
children receive expert therapy to make sense of their story so their psyches
can be healed.
Possible indications of attachment disorder
In young children
In teens
In all children
How to respond
Remember, if you haven’t lived it,
you don’t know it. Nor are you a therapist or a parent.
·
Keep your expectations high because these
children are worthy of high expectations.
·
Be a positive and consistent role model who
always tries to create win/win situations in a safe environment.
·
Use clear consistent guidelines and boundaries,
emphasising choice, and always give measured, calm responses to confrontational
situations.
·
Be honest and truthful, while showing sensitivity
for their feelings. When you criticise something, make it abundantly clear that
it is their behaviour or work that you don't like and not the person
themselves.
Finally, do not lose faith in
yourself. Children with attachment disorder do not become this way overnight
and cannot be expected to change overnight. However, if you are positive,
consistent and trustworthy, they may be able to find someone with whom they can
connect.
Ronnie Young is an education consultant and writer.
Her book Aspergers Syndrome Pocketbook is available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asperger-Syndrome-Pocketbook-Ronnie-Young/dp/1903776996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389273600&sr=8-1&keywords=ronnie+young
Friday, 3 January 2014
2013 revisited and 2014 glanced at.
2013 was a mixed year, both for me and for the rest of the world in general.Some of the highlights and lowlights:
- Lots of famous people died and many more were born. However we won't know who the new arrivals are, because they haven't made their mark yet. They will!
- Departees include:
Nelson Mandela, John Fortune, David Frost, Alan Whicker, Noel Harrison, Peter O'Toole, Michael Winner, Slim Whitman, Frank Thornton, Bernie Nolan, Lewis Collins, Joan Fontaine, Tony Gubba, Kenny Ball, Tom Clancy, Ken Norton, Richie Havens, Paul Shane, David Jacobs, Bill Pertwee, Nigel Davenport, Reg Presley, Mel Smith, John Cole, David Coleman, Paul Walker, Lou Reed, Richard Briers, Richard Griffiths, Ray Harryhausen, Storm Thorgeson, Seamus Heaney, Colin Davis, Andy Johns, Ravi Shankar, Patrick Moore, Dave Brubeck, Larry Hagman, Herbert Lom, Andy Williams, Hal David, Victor Spinnetti, Phyllis Diller, Mary Tamm, Vidal Sassoon, Whitney Houston, Ray Bradbury, Gore Vidal, Ernest Borgnine, James Herbert, Joe Frazier, Milo O'Shea, Bruce Reynolds, Kim Jong-il, Hugo Chavez, Maggie Thatcher and my Mum.
If some names aren't familiar, drop me a comment and I'll elucidate!
The best known of the newcomers is a young lad called George, whose parents come from quite good families. His future fame is probably assured.... poor little chap!
In 2013 England cricketers won the ashes and lost them again with what is probably going to be a whitewash in Australia.
Sir "Fergie" resigned at long last from Manchester United after several false starts and has made millions ever since bvy selling his "autobiography" and charging £100k for an after dinner speech (I expect he got the dinner and a bottle of the finest claret thrown in as well!). Since he went United have struggled to dry their hair properly.
Lionel Messi showed that he's not the little angel and possesses a nasty little streak when he refused to visit a young fan with cancer in America, because he wasn't being paid. He was actually in the same town at the time.
Tom Daley came out with a Splash!
Hurricanes, typhoons and floods hit the world.... as they seem to do every year. Thousands were killed, or made homeless. In the UK a few hundred homes were flooded and insurance companies put up everyone's premiums.
The Polar Icecap INCREASED in size, so Global Warming definitely became Climate Change. In other words it could go either way. Incidentally, the "iconic" photo of a polar bear stranded on a tiny piece of ice and drifting in the sea does not mean we're killing polar bears when we start our cars. In fact, polar bears prefer to hunt seals that way because they have a 360 degree view of the surrounding water and are more likely to catch their prey. Polar bears are also extremely good swimmers.
We got a new Pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. It actually seems as though he might practise what he preaches and bring the RC church into the 20th century at least!
The 3D printer was invented. So far they've made a working gun and a hamburger. So much for technological advances.
We continued to bail out the Meditteranean countires with another £10m to Cyprus. We also continued to throw millions of pounds at countries like Nigeria (email scam center of the universe and a country sending up space rockets) and India (also in the space race and possessors of a nuclear weapon). Most of the most corrupt countries in the world are given our money in bucketloads, which just goes to show that Nigeria's email scam supremacy is under threat!
2 Islamist extremists set off a bomb at the end of the Boston marathon and 2 more hacked a soldier to death outside his barracks in London. Meanwhile all little old ladies are scanned and searched at airports, while one islamist extremist escaped the country dressed in a burqa and no one dared ask him to take it off.
Edward Snowden the USA army whistleblower was given asylem in Russia. What a surprise!
Kim Il-un had his uncle executed (among a few thousand) for being scum, even though it was his uncle who had masterminded the young Kim's succession. Backed the wrong horse there!
Egypt's army kicked out the president they'd put in power to replace the president they didn't like. Better like next time, guys!
Islamist extremists attacked a shopping mall in Nairobi, killing 64 people. In Algeria another islamist group seized an oil refinery and murdered most of their hostages.
North Korea conducted its 3rd underground nuclear test. Word has it they had to be underground, because none of their rockets went more than 50 feet before exploding.
In Bangladesh a multi-storey factory housing a number of sweatshops collapsed killing 1,129 and injuring a further 2,500. The owner did a runner and several UK clothing companies pledged never to use sweatshop labour again.... at least not in the same street.
My books are still available at Amazon on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leap-Faith-Richard-Hardie-ebook/dp/B00GQHXSHS/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1388752986&sr=8-1
Blog on, Dudes!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)