How a 7 word tweet can turn into 1/3 page of a national broadsheet.

MIA Freedman, described in these pages in June as one of the most popular local media identities on Twitter, should think before she tweets.

This week, she posted a link to a YouTube clip with the words: "Made me laugh. Rusty the narcoleptic dog. The clip shows a dachshund running around on grass before, suddenly, inexplicably, collapsing in a heap, asleep. Hilarious! Replay it! Let's all be entertained by the dog's inability to do what he instinctively wants to do: to run and to play, to stay upright and alert.

Now imagine it's your child. Your child running, playing and — suddenly, without warning — collapsing in a heap, unable to stay upright or alert. Still find it funny? Want to recommend it to others in the Twitterverse for a little light relief on a slow day? My nine-year-old son has narcolepsy. It is no laughing matter. Narcolepsy is a chronic, progressive and disabling neurological disorder for which there is no cure.

The collapsing that Freedman found so funny in the dog? It's one of the symptoms of the condition (along with an uncontrollable urge to sleep during the day) and it's called cataplexy, a striking, sudden episode of muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions (in the dog's case, excitement at just running around).

Excitement can affect my son the same way. So, too, can fear, anger, sadness, anticipation, even elation. He collapsed on seeing our Christmas tree fully trimmed and, although conscious, was unable to speak or move. He collapsed at Sydney Children's Hospital on entering a room to meet a new doctor. He still buckles and struggles to control his entire body when playing with his little brother or laughing heartily.

Cataplexy is a force so powerful and random that it shuts down his ability to function as he wants, something the rest of us take for granted, every minute of every day. Since it blindsided my son 10 months ago, narcolepsy has rendered him fundamentally challenged and changed. Regular team sport is out. He lives in a constant state of exhaustion and grieves for the little boy he once was, telling me recently through tears: "Childhood doesn't last very long, mummy." Daily medications help to keep him awake while others aid neurological and physical functioning but all are far from an exact science.

Without them, he would not be able to attend school or have any semblance of a normal life. Narcolepsy appeared as if from nowhere, lying dormant in his DNA until it was triggered by a virus, it's thought, although none of the experts can tell us for sure. That's because it's a rare condition: a largely invisible or "orphan" disorder that by dint of a low profile and little public awareness has poor pulling power and therefore inadequate funding for scientific research.

And this is where Rusty (of the "made me laugh" video) comes in. Narcoleptic dogs could well hold the key to a cure. They're being used overseas to trial a treatment that might one day, if more financial support can be found, be available to my beautiful boy and improve his quality of life.

So I say to Freedman, journalist to journalist, mother to mamma: did you not read the words at the start of the clip? ("Sleep disorders. Unit 3: States of consciousness.") Did you not listen to the accompanying commentary? ("This dachshund, Rusty, suffers from narcolepsy, a condition that causes him to suddenly fall asleep when he's trying to do other things. Little is known about the cause of narcolepsy, except that it can be inherited. It affects humans and animals, alike.")

Freedman's tweet "made me laugh" should have prompted a "made me sad" or — better yet — "made me think", or "made me investigate". The footage is part of an instructional video shot for scientific purposes that's been purloined for use as a punchline on YouTube. And Freedman recommended it as a freak tidbit of the day on Twitter and again on her blog where it remains listed prominently under a section she calls "Cool Clips". A blog that purports to be an inclusive space for women and all things on motherhood.

What, exactly, is humorous about a dog that collapses and sleeps uncontrollably because of a disability? If he were an epileptic dog or a dog with a brain tumour would his behaviour still amuse? Would Freedman laugh at my child collapsing? No? So why laugh at a dog with the same neurological condition?

Others' misfortune — in the animal or human world — is not my entertainment. Afflictions-as-fodder-for-fun revolted me even before narcolepsy unleashed hell on my son.

YouTube is home to plenty of videos that show the condition in all its devastating, baffling and heartbreaking forms. Many ridicule, others hope to enlighten. Not one of them is funny. Not one makes for comfortable viewing. Rusty the narcoleptic dog is not the first and will certainly not be the last. But by highlighting his state as nothing more than a giggle, Freedman squandered a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about a terrifying condition, a condition that underscores the fragility of our health and reminds me, every day, that a mother's love can do a great many things but not the one thing I want most: to fix my son, to free him. Freedman could have posted the video link with some caring commentary to educate others like herself who are utterly ignorant about narcolepsy.

I expected more from a woman who just weeks ago rallied her followers via Twitter and the blogosphere, threatened to boycott, and then successfully lobbied a children's clothing company to stop selling inappropriate and offensive slogan T-shirts that made light of shaken baby syndrome.

At the time, Freedman asked the company: "IS THAT FUNNY?" It wasn't. Neither is narcolepsy.

Herein lies the rub. All professional bloggers and tweeters must take responsibility for what they publish, plug or pass on to others. Instant, global connectivity means messages have a breathtaking reach that become particularly potent when sent by those with a louder voice, higher profile or more popular blog.

Media lecturer Julie Posetti, along with Freedman, spoke about the "explosion" of interest in new technologies in these pages in June, in an article titled: "Journos mastering the Twitterverse." Posetti described local journalists as "literally in a Twittering frenzy" but, she said, the media was only just beginning to grapple with the positives and negatives of Twitter. "You need to be guided by the knowledge that everything you say on Twitter is public and it makes you publicly accountable," she said. "That said, for journalists to effectively use Twitter, they need to be human beings. You need to bring some of your personality and life experience to your journalism so your audience can connect with you."

Freedman was quoted as saying she believed Twitter could be "a source for journalists, a mobile focus group and a great help desk". "At first I thought it was self-indulgent," she said, "but you can't afford not to be there now."

Well, you can't afford to be careless, random or irresponsible either. From little acts of ignorance, big ones grow. Tweets such as "made me laugh" live on in cyberspace, they cannot be corrected, and people continue to read them and re-tweet them, perpetuating the belief — in this case — that it's acceptable to mock those who suffer from narcolepsy. That notion — to use Mia-tweet — "made me irate" then "made me write".

On her website, Freedman describes herself thus: "I am a writer, blogger, social commentator, and journalist I also Twitter compulsively I am married with three kids, we have a dog. I am a passionate advocate for Body Image and I never tire of banging on about the need for media to be more diverse and realistic in their portrayal of women. I chair the National Body Image Advisory Group which advises the federal government on this subject."

Mia: I am a writer, journalist and social commentator on television and radio. I neither blog nor Twitter compulsively, I am married with two kids, we have a dog (because children with serious conditions benefit from pet therapy), I am a passionate advocate for rare conditions for which there are no cures — or even treatments in many cases — and I will never tire of banging on about the need for media and the general populace to be more caring and careful about their portrayal of people with these conditions. I aim to found a national charity for narcolepsy research, awareness and support because the federal government funds nothing on this life-changing subject.

I will do everything in my power as a journalist and a mother to speak up for a condition that has no voice in the medical world. I will champion its right to be acknowledged, respected and researched along with more common diseases. Science must be allowed to run its course, exhaust its limits, and perhaps even fulfil its promise to find better treatments for narcolepsy, if not a cure. My son is counting on it. In the meantime, he deserves to feel empowered, not pitied, helped not hindered, confident in his own skin, not defeated by the erosion of his independence or the laughter of others.

Think before you tweet. When you don't, you are rendered nothing more than a twit. Narcolepsy should give us all pause. It's no joke. Tweet that.