A local advocacy group today urged that Taiwan change the way it describes and talks about childhood mental illnesses by categorizing them as "neurodiversity" to reduce stigma and improve access to treatment.
At a news conference, the Action Alliance on Basic Education said that many parents lack accurate knowledge of conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and often fear that their children will be labeled, leading to delays in seeking medical help.
Photo: Yang Chin-chieh, Taipei Times
Alliance chairman Wang Han-yang (王瀚陽) cited government statistics showing that nearly 20 percent of more than 6,000 reported child abuse cases last year involved children with special needs, including hyperactivity and developmental delays.
These children are frequently misunderstood and subjected to inappropriate discipline, creating a cycle of harm, he said.
The group proposed that, similar to how "senile dementia" was renamed "Alzheimer's disease," the government should establish an interagency task force to replace stigmatizing terminology in medical, educational and social welfare systems with the more neutral and globally recognized term "neurodiversity."
According to Harvard Health Publishing, neurodiversity "describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one 'right' way of thinking, learning and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits."
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
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