AIBU to worry about the surge in school-suggested ASD diagnoses?

"There is nothing I’ve stated which is not based on MY experience, with fellow mums."

So not your experience.

Completely agree with you OP.

DS has an NHS diagnosis of ASD. Referral from community paed then the assessment was based on 2x sessions with a SALT and 1x session with a psychiatrist who didn’t spend any time with DS, the sole one hour interview with a Dr was with us parents.

i think it is overdiagnosed and the behaviour presenting as autism can be a constellation of other issues converging eg sensory integration issues.

It’s been 8 years and it’s now quite clear to both us (from the start) and medical professionals (years later) that the ASD diagnosis was wrong.

Sounds to me like scaremongering

Yes even if you are highly qualified you clearly know nothing about reality. If you do have an autistic child then you are clearly living in an alternative universe to the rest of us

An ASD diagnosis doesn't come with any extra funding.

Schools can refer in our area but they are triaged by the pathway team of professionals. If accepted children are added to the waiting list. Schools (along with parents, paediatrician etc) provide supporting evidence and it's a long process to even get on the waiting list. Children aren't automatically accepted and there isn't a waste of resources - triage will filter out cases which won't meet criteria

Respectfully suggest that people stop feeding the hairy-handed one.. .

I know, people are clueless yet for some reason feel like they know it all. The fake concern, yeah I’m sure this thread was started due to genuine concerns. As you say, it takes a long time to get a diagnosis and often involves several professionals.

Agreed 👍

It was a team of pediatric specialists lead by a consultant pediatrician who diagnosed my ds with ADHD and a separate pediatric team that gave him the ASD diagnosis and took 3+ years of assessments , yet it doesn't stop idiots claiming that anyone can get a diagnosis at the drop of a hat

My question was rhetorical tbh. so much bollock in one post. I doubt OP will be back.

My guess is talking out of their arse!!

why are you concerned about handing wrong ASD diagnoses? Do you think private assessments are akin to buying a diagnosis without a proper assessments? your posts doesn't make sense.

Also, what do you suggest parents do if the waiting list are 5-6 years long on the NHS and the child is falling apart? Watch and let it happen?

Do you have children with disabilities? Do you actually know what it is like battling the system or are you just talking out of your arse?

It’s a Community Paediatrician who diagnoses ASD where I live. For someone that seems invested so much and ‘concerned’ you don’t seem clued up on the facts….

Do you realise to get anywhere near seeing one of these children’s developmental doctors, there has to be significant needs to start with. A teacher having a ‘suspicion’ that a child may have ASD isn’t enough to warrant an appointment. The referral process is stringent as there aren’t enough developmental paediatricians, so a young child who exhibits milder symptoms is likely to not get seen.

This child will get older and struggle through without then correct support and when it’s more evident that they are autistic they will finally get the diagnosis.

These specialists doctors have far more knowledge than a random on the internet. You needn’t be ‘concerned’ that too many children are being diagnosed, as these highly trained doctors know far more than you and I!

Lastly, the process can take years and they don’t see a child for an hour and say yes they’re autistic. Rest assured, they will know if trauma is at play or not so no need to ‘worry’ they might not be able to distinguish!

@Poznan65 the OP mentioned ADHD as well sorry. Yes and eventually it is the psychiatrist that gets involved with ADHD treatment plans.
But the Ed Psych do a very thorough assessment which is insightful.

And there is no treatment .

Schools and Ed psychs don’t do the diagnosis.

For me the worry is the lack of Ed Psych’s available to do the full testing required for proper diagnosis and formulating treatment plans. The schools don’t have the same level of expertise.
Next comes the lack of suitable educational settings.

if the la want to refuse they’ll refuse whatever. We waited till diagnosis as senco said we’d be turned down without ( things were very bad and ds was getting regular fixed term exclusions as school couldn’t manage him) and we got turned down for assessment and the la gave the reason for refusal that now he had a diagnosis they wanted to see if things would improve (not sure how a piece of paper magically changes anything). We won appeal but if I’d have applied before diagnosis we’d have been further on in the appeals process sooner

I can be a sceptic of early diagnosis, especially in respect of kids fresh out of pre school when panicking about compliance (terrible word/concept many randomly apply to small children and the elderly) in Reception leads to informal misinformed suggestions of ODD.

However, I’m only a sceptic because our DC initially attended a private school where they began the weeding out of anyone who didn’t fit their narrow model child profile as soon as the kids got there. A few truly gifted kids were subjected to the most bizarre treatment, unsporty children didn’t fare much better.

But the OP is wrong about schools in general and I’d defend state school teaching and SEND services all the way. A good state school will always be better for kids with minor difficulties too

Can we please STOP using the phrase "seeking a diagnosis"? What you seek is an assessment. It totally trivialises the often long and traumatic experience.

SaLT is ridiculous. Schools don't have lots of staff hanging about ready to complete training and then support children based on a quick Zoom meeting and a pile of old fashioned sheets of paper suggesting activities that take hours.