Humans like to categorise stuff - and they just love it when stuff fits into two boxes. Or so they thought. Sadly this can be incredibly hurtful and dangerous.

Humans like to categorise stuff - and they just love it when stuff fits into two boxes. Or so they thought. Sadly this can be incredibly hurtful and dangerous. I spend a reasonable amount of time caring for kids with mental disabilities. They all come with neat little diagnoses and associated categories - which are almost invariably useless. A disability can be as unique as a fingerprint. Telling me that David has autism tells me nothing about his propensity to chase his carers around with sharp things. Telling me that Blake has Battens doesn't tell me if he can still walk. I understand the categorising - we just don't have time to know all the details. But surely, surely, humans are advanced enough to understand that almost everything is a spectrum, maybe? How's Blake? "About 7." That would be much better than "He's got Battens" or, worse "Disabled".