Don’t drag my autistic children into the Tories’ war on ‘woke’ | Letters
I felt compelled to respond to the latest Conservative punch-down: Kemi Badenoch’s endorsement of dangerously false claims on the administrative load of neurodivergence (What kind of person would drag autistic children into the culture wars? The Kemi Badenoch kind, 14 October).As a parent of two autistic boys without a formal diagnosis – the eldest already two years into the waiting list, with the youngster’s referral somewhere in the ether – I’m absolutely livid.To see your loved ones struggle without the support they need to keep them safe and well is hard enough, before they’re dragged into Tory point-scoring against “woke” society.On a professional level, I’m even more affronted by these accusations of workplace meddling and entitlement by people with neurodevelopmental differences.I’m part of a research group exploring autistic health inequalities, and I can assure readers that there is ample evidence that every factor that equates to poor health outcomes is more prevalent in the autistic community.
This can and should change, with better knowledge and autism-informed approaches to health and social care.As a party so apparently keen to see people in employment, the Tories should be endorsing support for neurodivergent people in work, not making the workplace more hostile to the 70% of autistic people who are unemployed.I suppose finding answers to these problems is not the intention of such polemical publications.We can only hope there can be deep institutional changes for better integration in the coming years that cannot be unpicked by a future rightwing government.Dr Erin BeestonUrmston, Greater Manchester I have two sons with a diagnosis of autism.
My eight-year-old is top of his class in every subject in a mainstream classroom, with no additional funding or accommodations, apart from a chair cushion that allows him to move around more than his peers,I have no doubt that he will achieve academically, but he may need future employers to understand that his brilliance comes with a directness and intensity that may not do him any favours in climbing the career ladder,An understanding of that will remove a disadvantage, not create an advantage, and has nothing to do with his personal “resilience”,My five-year-old is non-speaking and has far greater support needs,He had more than 200 words at the age of two and lost all of these in what is known as a regression.
He has just started at a specialist school,He does not receive transport,How anyone can think his position as a non-speaking individual with lifelong care needs offers him any sort of “economic advantages and protections” is beyond me,I am shocked and devastated at the wilful ignorance displayed by politicians who are diverting the blame for a lack of investment and funding on to the different and the vulnerable,Name and address supplied As a 62-year-old who finally had an autism diagnosis at 58 (self-financed as it was a five-year wait on the Conservative-funded NHS), I can say it is a personal revelation.
I have Asperger’s,I have worked my whole adult life, had a family and a successful career,Over the years, my struggles with anxiety, depression and at times a very personal fear of my own insanity made parts of my life near intolerable,The diagnosis has begun to allow me to come to terms with those feelings by giving me an understanding of my “difference” from mainstream society and how to navigate that,If I had known this about myself at an earlier stage in my life, it would have made a huge difference to me and to those around me.
Any suggestion that an autism diagnosis is some kind of attempt to gain a free ride is utter nonsense.For me it is a joy to see that young people now have the chance to be diagnosed early and given a better chance to find their place in society.Stuart BruceBox, Wiltshire Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Falafel, dips and mansaf: the Palestinian chef serving dishes ‘made with love’ in Melbourne
It’s an overcast afternoon in September and a crowd is gathering in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. The draw card: an unassuming food trailer parked in a loading bay on Hope Street, just off the suburb’s main drag.Brunswick is already famed for its vibrant Middle Eastern eateries and Aheda Amro, the woman behind this latest addition to the scene, knew it would be the perfect location to launch the project she has been working towards for the past five years.Originally from Halhul, a small city in Palestine’s West Bank, since arriving as an asylum seeker in 2018 Amro has been on a mission to bring the flavours of her homeland to Melbourne.The launch of her food van Aheda’s Kitchen is the result of years of determination and hard work; and not just Amro’s but that of the vast network of volunteers she has galvanised to help make her dream a reality
What are the best fillings for a jacket potato? | Kitchen aide
There’s no denying a jacket potato is one of life’s simple pleasures, but sometimes minimalism is not the order of the day. So if, say, tuna mayo is as edgy as your fillings get, it’s time to broaden your horizons: “For a rich, savoury twist, crisp chorizo and cream cheese make the ultimate indulgent filling,” says Poppy O’Toole, spud queen and author of The Actually Delicious Slow Cooker. She starts by frying chopped chorizo in a dry pan until it releases its oil, then stirs half the meat and its fat through some cream cheese. “Butter up your jacket potato, top with a big spoonful of the chorizo cream cheese, and sprinkle the rest of the fried chorizo on top for a satisfying, flavour-packed meal.”The Guardian’s journalism is independent
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for sausage meatballs with beans and caramelised peppers
For such a short ingredients list, this recipe is packed with flavour and something I cook almost weekly for my family (with slight variations). Using sausagemeat instead of mincemeat means instant flavour, and you can use whatever sausages you like (I love the ones with lots of fennel). You could serve this as is, on toast (think nostalgic beans on toast with sausages), or even substitute the beans for mini pasta shells – it’s a malleable and forgiving dish.If you have the time, give the peppers a little longer to cook, to make them extra sweet.Prep 10 min Cook 35 min Serves 42 tbsp olive oil6 sausages (about 400g)4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped½ tsp sweet smoked paprika 3 peppers (red, orange or yellow), halved, seeds and pith removed, flesh very finely slicedSea salt and black pepper800g (2 x 400g tins) cannellini beans, drained ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely choppedPut the oil in a large frying pan on a medium-low heat
Mulled white wine? Perfect for Christmas guzzling
For the same reason you wouldn’t enjoy a protein shake at your anniversary dinner, you wouldn’t enjoy mulled wine at any time other than Christmas. Mulled wine is a drink that is tied to a specific moment. It’s not enough for the weather to be cold, grey and rainy (god knows we experience that often enough in the UK), it needs to feel festive – preferably in the presence of at least one adult dressed as an elf.In my head, mulled wine is a sort of goth sangria, a concoction that is flavoured, sweetened and spiced into something else entirely. This is also why people who don’t think of themselves as wine drinkers tend to enjoy mulled wine and sangria
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for miso salmon noodles – recipe | Quick and easy
This flavour-packed dinner takes just minutes to put together. The salmon then looks after itself for 15 minutes in the oven with a miso-sesame glaze, and it’s just a quick stir-fry for the garlic, ginger, broccoli and noodles. We have variations of this on repeat at home for a quick dinner; thick straight-to-wok udon are my favourite here, but by all means use with watever you like, cooked according to the packet instructions.Prep 10 min Cook 15 min Serves 23 tbsp sesame oil, plus extra to serve2 tbsp white (or red) miso paste 2 sustainably sourced salmon fillets (I use wild Alaskan) 2 spring onions, finely sliced5cm piece (a thumb) ginger, peeled and finely grated2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated½-1 tsp chilli flakes200g Tenderstem broccoli, finely sliced½ tsp rice-wine vinegar2 x packs straight-to-wok thick udon noodles, or other cooked noodle of your choice Sea salt flakes, to tasteHeat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and lay the salmon on a lined baking tray. Mix a tablespoon of sesame oil and a tablespoon of miso paste, then spread this over the salmon
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pumpkin, lentil and barley soup | A kitchen in Rome
Barley and, in no particular order, emmer and einkorn, wheat, rice, sorghum, peanuts, squash, cassava, lentils, chickpeas, bitter vetch and flax are the so-called founder crops that formed the basis of early agricultural economies in the various centres of domestication all over the planet. My first thought when I read this list of ingredients was: “What a fantastic soup!” And my second was: “What is bitter vetch?” The answer is it’s an ancient legume in the expansive Vicia genus that’s related to broad beans, although physically closer to the lentil and, taste-wise, nearer to a pea, only bitter. So, if you do make the founder crop soup, remember to parboil the bitter vetch several times, changing the water in between, before adding it to the soup. A small, portable oil press is also helpful, if you want to go all the way and turn flax seeds into oil, but remember to warm it gently.The Guardian’s journalism is independent
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