Wow - those ads made me suck in my breath - I can't imagine how it would make a kid dealing with a medical condition feel. I guess I see the angle they were going for, but holy crap, did no one in their marketing department pick up on this?
And I'm not so sure the Make-A-Wish Foundation's change of wording was so effective. Just earlier tonight, I overheard a conversation regarding Make-A-Wish, and one high school student asked another, "But aren't they just for terminally ill kids?"
Sure sounds like no one stopped to think about how those ads would affect people - probably too busy thinking how clever they were to come up with the idea in the first place. My brigh, wonderful, learning disabled teenaged daughter can manage to find all sorts of reasons to beat up on herself so I'm glad we don't live where they're running those ads.
Glad your brother is around to remember telling the Make-A-Wish rep to go away! Good for him to have the chutzpah to tell them so.
What the f*ck?! My gifted 13-year-old, who happens to have ADHD and depression, is in no way a "detriment to himself and those around him"! An ad like that will do absolutely nothing to "end the stigma surrounding" ADHD or depression. Do any of the jack*sses who worked on these ads even have children—children with a disability or neurologic disorder?
I think this is the same child study center that BB and I went to when he was a young toddler - they were studying all sorts of various developmental things with young kids and needed volunteers (they got thru fliers in local pediatric offices). Lots of spatial stuff, but one was disturbing, where I was basically supposed to urge my son to walk over a steep slope (student researchers standing nearby to catch). I lost it and told them that an age where you are trying to get your kid to appreciate danger that having parents urge their kid to take a step off a very steep slope (even in clinically controlled conditions) was unethical. We never went back. I got a call for another "experiment" a few months later & gave them an earful.
What asses. This only confirms my prior opinion of them as having no sensitivity or common sense.
Geez, I haven't seen this ad campaign. You make an excellent point that I think way too many people forget: children have eyes, ears, brains and FEELINGS.
probably too busy thinking how clever they were to come up with the idea in the first place.
I think Leslie nails it.
I saw this on several blogs this week and was wondering if I was the only one who thought this was a bad idea. It's a terrible message to send the kids, but it also strikes me as ineffective, at least with respect to me. My brain shut down after reading "We have your son." I had to force myself to read more.
Shudder.
"Don't let a psychiatric disorder take your kid"?!
I'm so glad my son with Tourette's and OCD isn't around these ads to see that he's been "taken".
I do applaud awareness campaigns in general, but these seriously seem like they'd do more harm than good. A lot of these conditions can't be cured, but can be controlled - does that mean a child who is managing has still been "taken" away by this disorder? Ugh.
"no hope of ever getting out"
Ugh. Nothing like that to give you no hope. They couldn't possibly have consulted anyone with a grasp of the effect this ad can have one someone. If they really wanted this to work they should have said "and they need your help to get out" or "there are people that can help them get out". Either way, I don't agree with their uneducated, mis-informing scare tactics.
And another thing that bugs me about the OCD one in particular. There are already a ton of people that think OCD is *just* handwashing - so a host of other obsessions and compulsions (including many that are more problematic) are not assumed to be "real" OCD. We've had this problem with teachers doubting my son's diagnosis already. He isn't washing his hands, so this weird behavior he's doing (refusing to pick something up, not wanting to walk in a certain part of the hallway, having to touch a doorway, etc.) can't be OCD. Sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and this campaign is definitely conveys a tiny amount of knowledge of the various conditions.
Love your ransom note. Give 'em hell.
'Course, having been around the autistic advocacy community (I bopped over following some of those links and links and links, hi) I don't even know where they got the idea that the kidnapped thing was new. It's been around since at least 1998, this is SO last century, AND demeaning. Bah.
I am really glad I don't live where those ads are posted. My reading, thinking, loving autistic son has enough difficulties without his "advocates" making life even worse for him. Gah. Horrifying!
Oy! As an NYC resident I'm totally dismayed. As a teenage girl with ADHD I'm surprised that I made it so far in life.. what with my being a detriment to myself and those around me.. oh wait, my ADHD is actually kind of awesome, since it's what allows me to do lots of things at once or lets me go to a party and make friends with everyone in the room.. You hit the nail on the head! What are children going to think when they see these ads telling them that they're not a real person, that they're a child who is being held ransom.. talk about feeling helpless, if someone came up to me and said "you have a neurological disorder and you're a detriment.. now go to school and try not to fail" then DUH I'm not going to do well. If someone said "you know what, you see things a little differently and sometimes you get distracted.. but you're also incredibly social" I'd be like "sweet, I like my brain".
I was depressed as a kid too - and that ad would have done me in. Horrible idea. I signed the petition. I hope I never see those ads in the wild.
I am absolutely amazed that someone would put posters like this in a major city...is it for the shock value? Need we remember the brain on drugs commercials? I mean, those only resulted in people making fun of them...probably while on drugs. Anyone with any problems that may set them away from their "normal" (whatever that means) peers, do not need to be made fun of. As an advocate for the mentally ill in my town...I agree that people need to be made aware of the problems of people who have different medical conditions...but not at their expense! There's too much stigma as there is...
Those ads make me sick. I am thankful that my 12 yr old, who suffers from ADHD, does not live in NY and be sugject to reading these degrading bilboards. How could anyone who states they are trying to help children even think these ads are productive?
If you didn't see it elsewhere, it might please you to hear that this campaign has been withdrawn. Read more here:
"'Ransom notes' ad campaign ends" by Kay Olson at The Gimp Parade and at Alas, a Blog
Commenting by HaloScan
