Ashfield MP defends ‘on the spectrum’ remark after dad’s fury
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In a post on his Facebook page, Mr Anderson said: I might not be everybody’s cup of tea – think I am on the spectrum as I struggle to keep my mouth shut.”
However, Simon Harris, who has a seven-year-old autistic son, said such comments annoyed him.
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Hide AdThe dad-of-three, whose Man Behaving Dadly blog has 185,000 followers, said: “We can’t allow ‘I might be on the spectrum’ to become a go-to excuse for behaving like an a*se.”
Mr Harris said: “As many autistic adults, or parents of autistic children will tell you, it’s infuriating when people use ‘I think I am on the spectrum’ as some sort of throwaway remark to try to excuse certain behaviour.
“In Mr Anderson’s case, this is his mouth seemingly engaging a few weeks before his brain in a manner that upsets people.
“Getting a diagnosis of autism is a process that can take many years. This sort of attitude from someone with a large audience is incredibly unhelpful.
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Hide Ad“I encourage Mr Anderson to get a formal assessment if possible.”
Mr Anderson is no stranger to controversy, having refused to watch the England national football team in protest at the players taking a knee before matches to fight racism and suggesting nuisance council tenants should be forced to live ‘in a tent, in the middle of a field’ and pick crops all day.
Regarding his latest comment, the Ashfield and Eastwood MP said: “If I want to talk openly about my own mental health, I will.
“Since being elected I have helped many families across Ashfield with children who have all sorts of health issues, including autism, which would automatically label someone as being ‘on the spectrum.’
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Hide Ad“In adults, it affects a person’s behaviour, it makes communication and social interactions hard, which describes some of my behaviour to a tee; the post receiving criticism is proof of my point.
“I got in trouble at school for speaking out of turn. It’s followed me all my working life, that’s why I made the comment. I know several MPs on the spectrum, including two good friends of mine.”