News 2021: 10 items (Diversity)

“I’ve been told to kill myself, called the T-slur for trans people, the F-slur for gay people and misgendered numerous times.” You might have seen hashtags like #DoBetterTwitch or #ADayOffTwitch trending over the past few weeks and months. It’s because of the flood of abuse that streamers, mainly from minority or marginalised communities are receiving on games streaming platform Twitch.

Training parents how to respond to babies showing early signs of autism could reduce by two-thirds the number of three-year-olds meeting the criteria for diagnosis, a small study suggests. Improvement on this scale has never been shown before, the UK and Australian researchers say. The first two years are critical for brain development – but most autism diagnoses are made at the age of three.

Doctors have shown for the first time that a new therapy aimed at infants can reduce autistic behaviour and the likelihood the children will go on to be diagnosed with autism before they reach school age. Infants who received the therapy after displaying early signs of potential autism, such as avoiding eye contact and not responding to their name, were one-third as likely to have autism diagnosed at the age of three, compared with those who had standard care, the researchers found.

Teaching pupils to engage positively with their sexual identity is key to tackling sexual harassment, says one expert. “It’s really hard to talk to young people about what makes sex safe if you’re not going to talk about pleasure,” says sex and relationships adviser Jonny Hunt.

Support for pupils who have special needs is “beyond crisis” in England and “sucking money from budgets” for all children, a report says. Nearly all schools (97%) responding to a survey by a head teachers’ union said they received insufficient funding to support pupils who had special needs. The National Association of Head Teachers says funding has to rise so all pupils can be supported to learn.

Ministers should not “weaken” laws protecting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), campaigners say. A campaign backed by politicians and charities is urging the government to include disabled people and their parents and carers at the heart of its review.

A new project will see young people who have experienced poor mental health and racial injustice shape the way support is delivered. The Young Changemakers programme will see 16- to 25-year-olds “given the opportunity to change mental health support for the better and affect real change”, according to UK Youth, which is behind the initiative.

Councils in England are struggling to assess the level of support children with special educational needs require because of a shortage of educational psychologists, with the start of the school year just days away.

In the latest part of our series, we highlight the lack of official support in the UK for traumatised youngsters and those left to pick up the pieces. But, amid the grief, is there still hope for the future?

New guidance on supporting transgender children in schools has been published by the Scottish government. Ministers said the guidance was designed to help schools and education authorities “make decisions effectively”. It also recognises the importance of “privacy and safe spaces” for girls and boys within schools.

Capability statement for practice with autistic children will add to existing standards for adults’ practitioners, and follows concerns raised by chief social workers about how professionals work with families. Social workers will receive new standards on working with autistic children and their families, as part of the government’s revised autism strategy, published last week.

A new (20 July 2021) briefing from the Prison Reform Trust: Why focus on reducing women’s imprisonment? reveals that most women are sent to prison for non-violent offences and serve sentences of 12 months or less. 72% of women who entered prison under sentence in 2020 have committed a non-violent offence. Furthermore, 70% of prison sentences given to women were for less than 12 months.

Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to announce the strategy today (21 July) which includes the creation of a police position dedicated to keeping women and girls safe, a new 24/7 rape and sexual assault helpline commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and tougher measures to prevent sexual harrassment in schools and higher education settings.

Earlier diagnosis as well as investment in children’s professional training are among measures being pledged by the government to improve support for children and young people with autism.

Online hate has been in the headlines again recently due to an avalanche of racist posts directed at three players who missed penalties in England’s defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Warning: This article contains language that some may find offensive