To think if ASD is costing the UK 32bn per year we need to better early screening?

Sorry but this made me laugh you really don't understand genetics we learnt this stuff in school age 12. You realise two dwarfs can have a child without dwarfism and one with it. Same goes for pretty much everything even eye colour.
Sorry if I was rude just saying it made me laugh

Don’t let that make you too anxious. Remember loads of people in their 50s would never have been diagnosed. There are lots of working, capable people who don’t have a diagnosis but would have been diagnosed if they were a child now.

My verb tense is totally lost in that sentence but hopefully you know what I mean.

I have a friend recently diagnosed, he has always had good jobs. DH’s family are all clearly autistic, through modern eyes. Out of 6 of them, two/three excelled at work, one is a mum and in regular employment though not at a high level. One in very basic employment and still lives at home.
One has had significant mental health challenges (may well have been far better had anyone realised autism).

All of them would have done better had they had a diagnosis to help them navigate challenges.

Your DC are in a good position, with your support and today’s better understanding of the challenges.

It is fictional, and is meant as entertainment.
Look up the stats as to how many autistic people are in any sort of paid employment.

I was diagnosed when I was at Uni I was 40ish, I worked as a teacher so functioned well, both my children have ASD and both work full time and manage the world very well. The reason I was assessed was because the tutor was talking about ASD and noticed something about me and arranged the assessment, if they hadn't said anything I doubt I would know now.

I used to define myself as “I am autistic” but I don’t care if someone says I am someone “with autism” because I am. I see it as what it is, a disorder and disability that impairs my life in every way

Sorry, this was to the PP who asked for the source re birth spacing. I didn't know about this before so thought was interesting

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5773391/

Oh dear. 😬

Watch Patience on TV. She's autistic and quite high functioning in her specific role. I'm pretty sure many autistic people, can function pretty well and contribute instead of cost, to the economy.

Any GP suggesting individuals or parents are buying a diagnosis is utterly moronic.

It isn't worth the reputational risk to a private practice to get it wrong by diagnosing when one is not Autistic. Having sat through my son's entire assessment the depth and detail is so significant you just couldn't slap this on someone lightly at all.

I was shocked how much I didn't realise about my own child and his masking when I observed the assessment.

It probably is a lucrative industry right now with the NHS as it is, yet, the NHS is on its knees and professionals will of course take financial advantage in private practice.

I'd be very surprised if anyone bothered paying for a diagnosis to "validate why they're not sociable", that's unbelievably offensive.

Personally I was suicidal because I was repeatedly entering burnout from trying to mask and couldn't explain why.

My GP, my family, my colleagues probably think I'm fine and don't need a diagnosis BECAUSE I MASK. It's fucking exhausting. It's not that I'm "not sociable" it's that it takes an extreme effort to put myself in a "social situation". Where by "social situation" I include work meetings and doctors appointments. I don't have any fucking energy left for actual social situations, of course.

Reading my school reports, if I was a kid now I'd absolutely be diagnosed. Why shouldn't I be diagnosed as an adult?

APPEAR to function well.

I don't function well, but I put on a good show of doing. It's called masking.

There was an interesting mention of head size which caught my eye and sent me off looking.

Apparently a head that grows faster than usual in infancy then slows down is associated with Autism.

where do you get that figure from???

@Pelot I never thought it would even be a possibility with a child who is in mainstream school and not ' appearing' to have issues. I think this is worth looking into and I appreciate the heads up.

I can't and won't have any more children ( too old and disabled 😊). I find the whole concept of having children terrifying now. I don't understand how young women are so optimistic. It's good they are really. But if there's a child with any sort of additional need it's so scary because the help is not there. I know many have much more to manage resource wise than I and are not accessing enough help.

The point you make here though is so spot on. I wonder how many people have this conversation.

This subject has come up alot on MN and every time it just demonstrates that the terminology isn't sufficient to convey the breadth of the spectrum. I was saying this same thing about ASC as many don't feel disordered just different. But then another group would step in saying that this undermines the huge struggles of many, including those who ' pass' as having minimal struggles.
It's complex.
We had another thread here where some poor lady was being berated because she's Autistic and didn't feel able to work right now. We had lots stepping in ' I'm Autistic and I work'. Not helpful to her. It reminds me to try avoid generalisations which I can fall into.

A bit of a tangent but I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the cost implications of raising a little dude who is ND. The cost feels all mine, none of it the state ( yes kids are our responsibility I know) but with something like Autism and the current state of services the hidden costs are big.

Because the NHS refused to assess, we paid a few thousand for assessment. Because the diagnosis is privately, follow up psychiatry review now private. Looking at ADHD meds , this will be private. Will the GP take on costs? They have zero obligations and can say you went private so why should we? ( Because you refused to assess you absolute xxxx) Anyway 🤦😆

Then we have all the school stuff and I know I'll be forking out more and more.

I understand again that we must pay for our own kids but the ' drain' financially with the group of ND kids who are in this category ( level 1) is very hidden. I don't see the school doing much either but I understand time wise it's more resource intensive for teachers in mainstream on occasion.

The idea is to provide appropriate support and input for the child from birth and to have a much greater impact in the first year (clearly this would not work in the UK system with its current resources). The scan would be too late for termination in many of the countries researching this; that isn’t the focus.

It’s not only genes, it’s also neural folding

What people also don't understand is how wide the spectrum is.

You have your Sheldon Coppers at one end, who are absolutely more than capable of working, no mobility issues, no care issues etc.

Then you have the brother in the care home in Love Actually at the other end. 24/7 care, little mobility, absolutely no way could he work.

It's really damaging to say autistic people can't work, because many can and do.

Thank you. Yes I agree. We say 'our son is autistic". And he owns it and is proud of being part of that varied community. I never personally use ASC but it's a bit less offensive than saying he has a disorder. I've learnt a lot about autism but still learning.

I agree with @Putthekettleon73 ASD isn't a term those of us who are autistic use. In fact, I'd go further and say neither is ASC. We are autistic people, it's who we are, not something we have. Even worse is when neurotypical parents say "My son is ASD" - no he's not, your child isn't a disorder, they are autistic.