Special Needs members on your forum?

[Katrina]

On CH we have a member who is on the spectrum and posts some very odd things. Some of the members would like to have him banned, but I'm a lot more patient and give people a chance to explain why they post the way they do...and also to keep sharing the Gospel when I can.

Do you have special needs members? Are they well-received by others on your forum?

 

[Shortie_]

To my knowledge, I don't have any special needs members, but I do believe that with someone who may have difficulties, they should be given that time to be able to rectify their mistakes or even explain why they posted what they did.

 

[Mike30]

Maybe having more conversations with that member to get to know him/her better to understand how to better serve him/her. Also by explaining how things in general work on the forum.

I once was a newbie on forums, I used to get banned pretty often for posting on wrong categories.. My intentions were not to do that on purpose, I just didn't know better.

Get to know him/her better... and explain that there are social manners/attitudes/rules/responsibilities to be part of a community.

 

[dojo]

If someone is posting junk in my forums (whatever this means: attacks, spam etc.), they can either fix their attitude or go away. I wouldn't ban immediately, especially in such a case, but if said member constantly causes a stir in the community, they will have to leave. You cannot risk losing valuable members for just 1 person.

I used to have 2 such people in my first martial arts forums and they were known for their issues. We were able to keep them for a few months, but, all their attacks and nasty comments were slowly alienating other members. So they eventually got banned.

 

[Ashley]

I do have special needs and don't always understand things, but if someone sits down with me and explains things in a way I can at least get part of the picture, then I'm good.

 

[Jay™]

Show some compassion to individuals with special needs, try to explain to them that the tone of their posts needs to change a little, or offer to edit them; in many cases, they don't understand what they post.

 

[Felly]

Compassion goes a long way. We were all new users on a forum once upon a time in our lives, and we probably didn't know any better. While a neurotypical person may catch on quickly that what they're doing is wrong, a neurodivergent person may not. It may take them a little longer to understand that the things they're posting and the actions they're taking aren't ideal for the forum environment for whatever reason. Compassion and guidance go a long way with people.

It could simply be a case of them not knowing any better and needing that extra guidance to help them along the way. If you've gone above and beyond though and done everything you possibly can to help them, then yes, maybe some harsher actions need to be taken.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Compassion definitely goes a long way. Sometimes it can be difficult for someone to explain things, for some it's easier to do so while speaking rather than posting online. I'm Neurodivergent myself, so I know sometimes I can get on tangents and sometimes I need people to come and intervene so I don't get too far off lol.

 

[Nebulous]

I think you get a gut feeling when you know someone is legitimately special needs and you can tell when they are just "regular person" playing games. Either way, rules are set in place to be enforced, no matter who the offending member is (and what their circumstances are). Allow for leniency of rule enforcement as long as the morale of the forum isn't being disturbed.

 

[Page]

People say that they don't believe that they have members who are or have special needs, they don't really know the right. I mean, people are all different in many ways, and most can't help being who they are. The point is that you can read posts from this member who has good grammar and spelling, but ends up being a disabled and special needs person.

How many FP members are on the spectrum! I do not think everyone knows

 

[Shawn Gossman]

On CH we have a member who is on the spectrum and posts some very odd things. Some of the members would like to have him banned, but I'm a lot more patient and give people a chance to explain why they post the way they do...and also to keep sharing the Gospel when I can.

Do you have special needs members? Are they well-received by others on your forum?

This is a really good question that I've not really seen anywhere else!

I think nowadays more people are special needs. Whether it's from crap they put in our food, medication, or whatever, autism and spectrum disorders seems to be on a significant rise.

I think it's important that forums consider those types of users. It's important to accept everyone, right?

 

[Ravenfreak]

I think nowadays more people are special needs. Whether it's from crap they put in our food, medication, or whatever, autism and spectrum disorders seems to be on a significant rise.

I don't think it's that, I know so many people that are my parent's age that are definitely on the spectrum. They didn't really diagnose people that great back in the day, in fact lots of disabled people were unfortunately sent to sanitariums and treated poorly. Science has gone a long way and I think doctors have better signs of when people have disabilities. I also think more people are comfortable being neurodivergent, it's not stigmatized as much as it used to be.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I don't think it's that, I know so many people that are my parent's age that are definitely on the spectrum. They didn't really diagnose people that great back in the day, in fact lots of disabled people were unfortunately sent to sanitariums and treated poorly. Science has gone a long way and I think doctors have better signs of when people have disabilities. I also think more people are comfortable being neurodivergent, it's not stigmatized as much as it used to be.

You might be right but what I see spectrum people acting like today is much different than what older people act like.

I'm a naturalist sort of person though. I really don't trust medicine and most food. 😀

 

[Krissycakes09]

I know who your talking about as I have said something but I didn't know that they were that way. I just thought they were being weird or rude. My husband is on the spectrum so I now understand and more likely to be more understanding and calm with this member.

 

[Page]

There are people who have no idea they are on the spectrum. I've been down that road in my life with stories from people.

 

[Gizmo]

There are people who have no idea they are on the spectrum. I've been down that road in my life with stories from people.

I suspect I am on the autism spectrum but in order to get a piece of paper saying so I have to find someone to assess me and pay for it myself. It's very very expensive.

 

[Nomad]

I do not have special needs member, I cannot give everything to a certain member at the cost of majority of member.