'Increase' in ASD/ADHD

My experience indicated to me that some people are very invested in the outcome, particularly teachers and private assessment providers, and that they will stretch to make behaviours fit with diagnostic criteria.

A few questions about this bold statement.

Why do you think that teachers have the power to influence diagnosis when they are not present at assessments and do not have any decision / diagnosis making power?

Why would teachers benefit from a child being diagnosed?

Why would private assessment providers benefit from a child being given a positive/ false diagnosis which is contrary to their professional obligations ? What financial or other benefit will it give them given that they will be paid for the assessment rather than the outcome?

Do you think they stretched to make your child's diagnosis?

Do you think that it is morally correct that you have implied that they have misdiagnosed your child yet still have allowed DLA to be applied for for your child at state expense when you think that your child's diagnosis may be unsound?

Do you think that it is double standards to accuse others use their child's diagnosis as a Blue Peter badge when your child/ family gets financial benefit from your own child's diagnosis that you think may be unsound?

wow.

It is not the fact you are saying that you didn't apply for it, today you said you weren't aware of it, but yesterday at 18.00 you were and said your child receives it.

I'd get your story straight.

Deary me. I wasn’t the one who applied for it.

Sorry I posted too soon.

Your story is inconsistent.

How does your child get DLA as you said yesterday at 18.00 but today you say you didn't know it was a possibility?

Both of those things can't be true.

I wasn’t the one who applied for it.

And?

Your post from yesterday....

Westernesse · Yesterday 18:00

Nothing from the NHS, school very supportive and he is doing very well. We do now get DLA.

I think we overall got the right outcome by sheer luck in the but the process gave me no confidence whatsoever that there is any real diagnostic robustness as to any of it.

So if you didn't apply for DLA, why does your child get it?

Your story is inconsistent.

Thanks for your insight @ntmdino

If there's one thing that all us mostly-surviving-in-the-modern-world autistic folk want the NT world to know, it's that our level of operating success can change dramatically, unpredictably and - most importantly - very quickly. That's often camouflaged in the safe family environment of the young, but living independently...totally different story.

This is so true. In fact even in the camouflage of family life my son's level of operating has changed dramatically and unpredictably over the years.

I have advised him, as have CAMHS, to do nothing for now as being diagnosed is not something he needs to share in any event but can be useful if things go wrong in the future. Hopefully he will realise that is sound advice.

Adult recently diagnosed with ASD and ADHD here.
Its not more prevalent, people are now however willing to recognise it in other forms than the most stereotypical presentation (straight while males for one) since my diagnosis and learning a lot about both conditions I see it in adults everywhere I go, all undiagnosed of course. I believe the only difference now is that we are more aware of the spectrum and range of symptoms that come with that.

@lifeturnsonadime - just as a little piece of advice for your son (or perhaps...additional information). He may feel that his diagnosis doesn't accurately reflect his current situation, but my experience (and that of many my age) is that it may well do in the future. As we age, many of us get less able to mask and generally put up with the stresses of surviving in a world designed for the NT. Of course, no teenager ever wants to think about what life will be like in their 30s and 40s, but the general trend is for life to become more intrusive rather than less, and the teenage years seem to be the time when most folk are most able to mask constantly without the cost being high.

I guess my point is that your username accurately reflects reality - he may well find that, if he gets his report rewritten for his current circumstances to say that he doesn't really need any support and suddenly those circumstances change, he's going to be high and dry. That's much worse than a report that says he does need support when he doesn't.

If there's one thing that all us mostly-surviving-in-the-modern-world autistic folk want the NT world to know, it's that our level of operating success can change dramatically, unpredictably and - most importantly - very quickly. That's often camouflaged in the safe family environment of the young, but living independently...totally different story.

I guess all I'm saying is...you're right that it's totally his choice, but I've seen enough horror stories (and lived a few myself) that I'd feel remiss if I didn't advise caution.

Take that as you will, of course. Fully appreciate that I'm just words on a screen ;)

But there does seem to be an increase in teenage kids & young adults identifying as autistic whether diagnosed or not.

I don't really know where this stems from but my teenage DD talks about this a lot. There are a lot of tik toks / you tube/ instagram accounts of teenagers who are adopting an autistic identity. Now, undoubtedly some of them will be ND but it's a bit like a trans identity it marks a person out, in the mindset of some teens as being a bit edgy or different. No one can really question a person who says that they are autistic, they may well be correctly diagnosed, it's not like you can tell by looking at someone. But the number of accounts with #lgbtqia and #actuallyautistic (for exampe) or #adhd is definitely on the increase.

I find it quite fascinating as my two teenagers treat their autism very differently. My son who had major struggles when he was younger doesn't want to be seen as autistic, he doesn't tell anyone and masks like a pro when out. He has even spoken to CAMHS about revisiting his diagnosis at some point in the future which is entirely his choice. I don't think that the outcome will be different but who am I to say. The difference between him now and at the point of his diagnosis is that he/ we know the triggers for when it is too much and we have largely built our existence around them. He also is studying A Levels and he is able to channel one of his special interests through focusing and doing amazingly well in this particular subject. He takes seratonin to manage the level of anxiety that every day existence, that his neurodiversity, has given him. When he comes off these he can't manage so it is agreed that it is likely that he will need this lifelong, but especially on transitions and times of change. No one outside knows this they see a bright, slightly socially awkward teenager.

My daughter who is 14 very much owns her autism. She has very many more sensory issues and quirks/ ticks than her brother. For her being autistic a real part of her identity. The tik toks and instagram accounts have been helpful to her because her NT peers have more understanding etc. I think she is happier than he is.

This is all a bit of babble and purely my own perspective. It is VERY positive that autism is talked about more. The only downside of the social media is generally it talks about the quirks and identity but doesn't focus on the very real struggles as much which I think plays into the hands of those who say it is a personality type rather than a neurological difference which can, at times and for some always, be disabling.

And I do think that there is a very big difference in neurodiversity between individuals. My two kids are both autistic but are entirely different from each other both in personality and needs. I feel fortunate that when their needs are managed, which takes a mammoth and often unseen effort by them and the strategies we jointly put in place to enable it, they can live very happy and successful lives and I am very well aware that this is not the case for some autistic people.

All of this stuff about glamorisation is hogwash.

Yes there are the trendy successful autistics a la Gates, Musk etc.

However, and I really do want to emphasise this - the main thing that has changed about autism is that people diagnosed with it are treated decently, they are not ostracised from society, nor do they lose their autonomy.

20 years ago I didn’t want to be diagnosed because I felt people would see me as a R-word…. I worried I would lose control over my own life and be denied opportunities.

I got diagnosed recently because I saw that things are better - both within the medical profession and out in the world, it gave me confidence to do it for myself. I had no worries for my child because I know the environment is one of support and protection, not prejudice and abuse.

The autistics have always been there but they have not been able to come forward due to fear about how they will be treated by NT.

It isn’t glamour it’s safety that is dictating things.

@Sunsnet please ignore my above post - I’ve done it again and not read properly and kicked off without proper reason. I’m very tired and this stuff makes me emotional, so I’m going to bow out of this thread as that’s the second time I’ve responded in an emotive way and misread the actual post. Apologies.

TigerRag

Or depression because of undiagnosed autism which both my 2 children needed up getting medicated for.

It’s the other way round. 17 or 55 is too late to get a diagnosis for adhd and ASC which are the dates my daughter and I were diagnosed with both. If my daughter had had her 3 x ND diagnosis and EHCP ( which she got at 18)when she should had(early on in primary)the catastrophic mental health collapse and ED she went on to develop which will have cost the nhs eye watering amounts could have been averted.

Not knowing why you struggle is a massive burden to carry. It’s women and girls who end up getting missed and women and girls in the firing line now with increased diagnosis on the back of better knowledge and diagnosis process. That is not ok and there is a distinct whiff of sexism on top of ableism with all this.

Are they actually for Autism or because for example he has anxiety because of his Autism?

I think you are making a fair point.

You are using out of date terminology but the general question is a good one. That said I think it is the question people are asking albeit not quite in the way you are phrasing it.

There is something going on with ND at the moment. It's being popularised and glamourised on social media and there unscrupulous clinics that you can effectively pay for diagnosis. I agree that we don't know how much of a problem this is either in quantity or long term effects. I agree it negatively effects NT people. What I am confused about is what you are suggesting we do about it. Not talk about it? Maybe, but to not talk about it surely we need good evidence or rationale as to why the glamourisation/poor diagnosis isn't that much of a problem. Maybe you have that rationale but I haven't seen it.