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diary
Diary: the rapid, wrong conclusions attention of the PSA is “complete
The latest quack therapy to catch the

elimination of autistic spectrum expression”
(Cease), which involves extremely high
The knee-jerk reaction to the horrific case of a man who threw doses of vitamin C and dietary restrictions.
a small child from the balcony of a gallery is not the right one, Such approaches prey on fears and
says Simon Jarrett distress, offering false hope and mythical
“cures”. They also rely on a view of people
with disabilities as not good enough – as a
tragedy in need of cure.
he terrible case of Jonty Bravery “community care in geographically diffuse
– the teenager with autism who flats” and calls for “well-run, humane The joy of socks
Tthrew a six-year-old child from the residential institutions”. John Cronin is a 24-year-old New York
10th-floor balcony of Tate Modern This sounds like a disturbing, tragic case entrepreneur who runs John’s Crazy
gallery – is almost beyond words. The being used to call for collective punishment. Socks, which designs and sells extremely
child has shown some signs of recovery, Like anyone, if people with learning colourful socks over the internet.
but his injuries are appalling. disabilities are seriously ill or dangerous to He has Down syndrome. A short film
Bravery lived in a flat in west London and themselves or others, they need to be called Sock Guys, directed by Katie
received two-to-one carer support. Our under appropriate institutional or medical Turinski, has been shown in the US, and
primary concerns must be the boy and his supervision. Otherwise, they do not. will hopefully come to the UK or go online
family, and the prevention of similar events. soon. You can see a trailer at https://
But already critics are circling to criticise Fighting quacks tinyurl.com/vyp6w8n and find the
the idea of community care. Times The Professional Standards Authority for company on Facebook.
columnist and BBC presenter Libby Purves Health and Social Care (PSA) has told the If the best present you can think of for
attacks the “kind and reasonable” idea Society of Homeopaths to stop its the woman, man, girl or boy in your life is
that people with learning disabilities take members advertising sham therapies that a pair of socks, then the least you can do
control of their own lives, questions promise to treat autism. Hooray. is get them a pair of John’s Crazy Socks. n

friends, especially in the evenings or at
weekends because they lacked the
support or experience to do so.
In some areas, we found that learning
disability friendship groups and dating
clubs offer a lifeline for people to take
part in joint activities in community
settings. They talked about being less shy,
more outgoing, more communicative and
generally more confident.

“The Friendship Meet Up’s members
meet up on their own on Saturday
nights. We go to a local bar about once
a month. Last Saturday, there were
about six, seven of us… we arranged Drink to that: being able to arrange an evening out with a friendship group can be a lifeline
it.” David
social inequalities. Commissioners can
Hopes and fears mobilise innovative choice and support Key points
Our hope is that more people with only if they have the capacity and teeth to
learning disabilities can self-build a life do so. n ● Advocacy, including support for
and benefit from the move towards ● Self-building our Lives: films, resource self-advocacy groups, is essential for
personalisation. pack materials and a report are available the most isolated people to build
This can only happen if the right at: http://selfbuildingourlives.org/ their skills and confidence to take
support is in place. At the moment, that part in the community
support is patchy. Andrew Power is associate professor in ● Involving people with learning
Our research offers the key building geography at the University of disabilities (for example on steering
blocks for commissioners and support Southampton groups) can enable support bodies to
Helen Glanville/Aziz Corporate to enable more people to self-build Further reading ● Friendship groups are lifelines for
create something people want and
organisations to create the conditions
commit to as well as learn together
their lives.
Power A, Bartlett R (2018) Self-building safe
Our fear is that, as advocacy
people to make and meet friends
havens in a post-service landscape: how adults
organisations tell us, the most vulnerable
and offer peer support as day centre
with learning disabilities are reclaiming the
use declines
are being left behind in this new social
welcoming communities agenda. Society &
care landscape and that is exacerbating
www.cl-initiatives.co.uk Cultural Geography; 19(3): 333-356 Community Living Vol 33 No 3 | Spring 2020 25