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."
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
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