Note: This was actually meant to be posted two weeks ago but something went, probably my ADHD wrong was what went wrong but we live and learn
The monster hiding in plain sight.
The thing that has worked its way into our legal system and allows for things such as discrimination, power imbalances and economic injustice.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re either lucky enough not to have come across it, or you’ve buried your head in the sand — in which case, I don’t blame you.
Red tape is essentially injustice masquerading as justice, which can make it all the more frustrating to bear.
It is a series of rules, paperwork or regulations that in ideology is meant to ensure an effective and fair process of accountability, but in reality it can mean that those with less money, less education and fewer opportunities are unable to gain access to systems of support or management.
Take Disability Living Allowance in the UK for example — support payments that are supposed to level the playing field financially for children with disabilities. In reality, the paperwork that is required to be completed for this is 48 pages long. There is also no way of completing it online or over the phone either, which means that if you’re the kind of person who isn’t good at form filling, perhaps because, like me, you’re dyspraxic — well, sorry kid, you don’t get the support.
“Red tape can be a disadvantage to neurotypical people, but for those of us who are neurodiverse it creates barriers.”
ADHD gIRL
Of course, personally I do love it when government systems ignore their own procedures or make administrative errors because unfortunately for them, despite being neurodivergent there are two things I am good at; communication and advocacy.
It underpins the principle values of everything I do. It’s the reason why I set up ADHD and Me CIC — so that those who struggle, those who can’t articulate their struggles and those who don’t have a voice can come and be seen, heard and valued.
The problem is these systems, by design, were not built for people who are different — who are neurodivergent. They were made for the masses, to be impersonal and just get the job done. Some of these systems, with their red tape, have been in place for far too many years and need rebuilding from the outside in, because red tape or no red tape, everybody deserves to be able to gain access to things that uphold their basic human rights.
