CAMPAIGN FOR THE AWARENESS OF GLUE EAR (CAGE)

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SIGN THE PETITION TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION FOR BETTER TREATMENT AND IMPROVED AWARENESS OF GLUE EAR AT: www.gopetition.com/online/34554/sign.html


This Glue Ear site is for parents of children with glue ear and should they wish to use it the professionals who come into contact with such children. We aim to provide information that, on the whole, is not provided by health or education professionals. We also aim to provide support for what can be a difficult and very misunderstood health condition with far reaching consequences for the child.  

There are good professionals out there who can help. But there is also institutionalized lack of knowledge and awareness of the problems facing these children throughout the National Health Service. Children are  misdiagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder or ADHD for example) or not diagnosed at all. There are serious failings in our health system that are leading children into unnecessary suffering. If you are a parent of a child with Glue Ear or you suspect your child may have this condition you must inform yourself. The NHS is not going to do it for you.

This site is not just an information source. It is part of our campaign to end the lack of knowledge and therefore ignorance of Glue Ear with or without recurrent ear infections. The lack of training in the NHS and our Education system not only result in a lack of correct treatment and help for the child but also result in the child feeling frustrated, misunderstood and alienated.

Currently parents are not getting detailed information about the different interventions such as antibiotics, grommets, hearing aids, autoinflation. This leaves them unable to make an informed decision about which intervention might be necessary for their child.

More research is needed to find out why this mucus builds up in the children in the first place. Immune response to food, medication and vaccination all need researching.

Hearing impairment is being downplayed, as are it's emotional and behavoural  effects being misunderstood and misinterpreted.
Behavior is being medicalised with no scientific or biological evidence and being presented as "disorders" which are passed of to the public as "diseases of the brain". This affects children lifelong and the way society around them including the education system relates to them and destroys their belief in them self, eventually creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
 		Many children and babies are not being diagnosed  during the first three crucial years for language and social development. The condition is being diagnosed too late and in many cases missed completely, leading to incorrect diagnosis and treatment. No more automatic examining of the ear, nose and throat by GP.s when presented with a poorly child has led to the condition being missed. There are now less referrals to ENT and less grommets insertions being performed. The preferred NHS strategy of "Watchful Waiting" does not work. 
               
               

Teachers, SEN's are prompting paediatricians to diagnose with a label in order to "get the help". The ASD net has been cast wider to catch behavioral and emotional issues.  Twenty years ago two in 10,000 children were diagnosed autistic, now it is one in sixty. A lack of  funding for unlabeled children needing extra help in school is prompting incorrect labels of ASD.

WE ALL NEED TO BE INFORMED.
PLEASE READ ON.