UK – This weekend the papers were full of the news about Katie Hopkins and her revelation that her daughter is on the autistic spectrum.
In an in-depth interview with Jon Ronson in The Guardian, when asked if she had ever considered the fact that she may be on the autistic spectrum, she replied:
“One of my daughters is diagnosed as being on the spectrum,” she replies. “It’s an awesome thing, to live with a child who can memorise a times table in two minutes. They don’t get things emotionally. Like, when I fell off my bike, and I was lying on the floor, she was asking what was for tea. But they do connect brilliantly with facts and details. I consider it a kind of gift, because you can see the world differently.”
What is shocking to the autism community about this revelation is that two months previously she mocked Honey, a nine-year-old girl who has autism, branding her a t**t. She tweeted:
“Honey can’t complete the autism assessment as she is too busy being a complete t***. But the s*** mum assessment is complete #bornnaughty.”
We reported on this here. Honey took part in the Channel Four reality television series Born Naughty? At the time many leading autism campaigners and charities condemned Ms Hopkins offensive tweets. The National Autistic Society (NAS) stated at the time:
“It’s unacceptable to talk abut children in this aggressive way, regardless of whether they nave a diagnosed condition like autism or not. Writing to shock and offend is what Katie does, but this is a new low.”
Ms Hopkins comments in The Guardian have certainly sparked much discussion on social media.
Anna Kennedy OBE tweeted:
Kevin Healey tweeted:
Carol Povey, Director of the Centre for Autism at the NAS told The Mirror that she was pleased that Ms Hopkins had shared that one of her children is on the spectrum.
“Clearly, as the mother of an autistic child, she already knows about the rewards and challenges this brings. But our invitation stands, if she would like to share her experiences with any of the autistic adults and families running hundreds of support groups across the UK.”
Many individuals posting on social media are questioning if Ms Hopkins is telling the truth, and why she is doing so now. They are also questioning why she made such offensive tweets about a young girl with autism, when her own daughter has been diagnosed with the condition. Well I don’t think it is right for us to question if her daughter is or is not on the spectrum. It is not our place to do so, the vast majority of us are not qualified to make this judgement, just as Ms Hopkins has no right to question the diagnosis of our children. What happens when we start to openly attack her on this subject is that we sink to her level. This debate is best left alone.
Having read the article though I have to say that I am incredibly confused as to why she made such offensive tweets about a little girl, as a a mother and then b as a mother to a child on the spectrum? That is what I find so incredibly hard to both understand and excuse. It therefore seems that no matter what she says about autism being a ‘gift’ or ‘an awesome thing’, that this will have very little, or any impact upon the parent reading it, who is caring for a child on the spectrum. Sadly the damage has already been done.
Could Ms Hopkins help parents by sharing her own experience? Would she want to help? Maybe we should give her a chance? Those offensive tweets though, about a little girl, will be hard to forget and I fear that because of them, many will not give her that chance.
Source: Jon Ronson: The Guardian: Katie Hopkins: ‘I definitely identify with that murderer thing, where you click off’
James Leyfield: Daily Mirror: National Autistic Society ”pleased” Katie Hopkins revealed she has autistic daughter and invites her to share experiences