eastender

Simply some of the most uncomfortable TV I have seen ever in a long time.

Leslie

I could say that about all of the "reality" shows. They appeal to the most base and nasty side of human nature. There is not a single one that I can bear to watch.

Bluegrass Lass

think they said she was deprived of oxygen when she was born..they've never been specific about what sort of brain damage or difficulties she has.

montgomail

I felt worse when I realised they were crocodile tears. When initially refused a second try, she became hysterical but remained totally dry-eyed. I could only assume that the constant attention and admiration had created a highly manipulative little girl.

montgomail

Well she lives independently and can recall lyrics so I can only assume it is a mild/moderate learning difficulty. But her behaviour throughout the show was often childlike and inappropriate.

Leslie

It's all getting to be a little bit tiresome if you ask me. If she really had a serious "disability" then she should have never been permitted to compete. The fact that she's tired/upset/exhausted is understandable but not a freaking international emergency.

montgomail

No she hasn't got a serious disability but a limited capacity to realise what she had taken on. And the media need to milk the Priory business for a day or two more, biding time for Big Brother which I believe starts again later in the week.

Leslie

Yeah, I'm sure she had no clue what it would be like. She just needs a lie down.

BigDavyG

So she's just stupid then ??

cathy22w

I work with people with developmental disabilities. I'm a behaviour specialist. To qualify as someone with learning difficulties, you have to have an IQ of 70 or below. An IQ of aruond 70 would put her in the 'borderline' range. That just accounts for intelligence. As has been pointed out, she can live alone and can recall things from memory. However, I have found that many people with varying levels of intellectual disability can recall words to songs really well. Where they often fall down is on the emotional level - what we may consider to be a small deal emotionally, for many people with a cognitive disability a 'small deal' could be a big emotional crisis. They just don't have the same coping capacity as a 'regular' person.

IQ isn't everything. The fact that she can live alone isn't everything either. But this kind of exposure would have been enough to test anyone, surely?

I really think some people are giving her a rough deal here.

BigDavyG

So is describing someone as having "mild learning difficulties" just the new way to describe someone who is a bit simple ??
Interested to hear your opinion seeing as you are a professional in the field. It seems reasonable to me that someone in Susan Boyle's position might crack up after her experiences in the past few months
Is the learning difficulties thing being thrown out there just as an excuse, and if so isn't that a bit off ie "don't worry about her freaking out, she is a spaz so it is only to be expected".

cathy22w

Well, in my opinion, if someone is a 'bit simple' there's a reason for it. The learning difficulty thing I don't think is an excuse. You get people with Asperger's syndrome (Bill Gates, Temple Grandin etc etc) who have awkward social skills - that's not an excuse, it's a diagnosis and people learn to work with it and accept it.

Susan Boyle was just being Susan Boyle. She comes from a small town in Scotland and has obviously led quite a sheltered existence where everyone knows her. She can cope well in those surroundings because they are familiar to her. She has gone from that to being thrust into the global limelight with all sorts of demands made of her. All sorts of changes.

You get apparently well rounded individuals in rock bands who throw hissy fits and wreck hotel rooms for really no good reason. Is it an acceptable social norm? Of course not. I believe Susan would know that the way she acted was not socially acceptable, but probably felt powerless to control her impulses given her assumed lack of emotional tolerance. She has done nothing but live and breathe BGT for however long, and then the letdown. The media built her up for a win. I guess the disappointment hit her hard.

SagenOnion

She's from Scotland ffs

The Horticulturalist

shut it.....

SagenOnion

...says someone from Mississippi