Clare Crowe

Because that isn't your identity then.

That's not, I'm the sad kid.

I'm the anxious teen.

This is something that visits me.

Or even older people would say, oh, their nerves were at him.

A gorgeous Irish, really cultural way of explaining mental health.

But what it does, it creates loads of pathways, avenues out of it.

They mightn't be at you tomorrow or it mightn't be on you tomorrow.

So we really need to work on our language.

Our language gives messages that last for children.

Yeah.

And the truth is, to access some services, you're going to need a label.

That's the harsh reality of the system.

So, for example, if I want services for autism, I'm going to need to have that assessment.

Of course.

And I'm going to need to share that label.

But I'm always careful with parents around, you share that label as much as you want to, but also get in the mindset of your child, like, what do they want shared?

Yeah.

So, you know, so like so that it's not everybody needs to know that.

Like it may be that only the school principal needs to know that diagnosis.