social media is convincing all our kids they are nd?

YABU. It is actually thanks to social media that more people are seeking diagnosis and hence getting the support and medication they need.

Most people do not understand how disabling ADHD can be. Friend of mine who has ADHD for example has such bad time blindness that she had to arrive at work an hour early to ensure she is not late. She also really really struggles to use public transport because she has the tendency to to impulsively assume a particular bus is the right one and because she is also dyslexic she often misreads the destination on the front.

DC2 also has ADHD. In their case it comes with fairly severe language processing issues which means if they attend a lecture at uni, at the end they have absolutely no idea what was said. They have to watch recordings instead and pause them frequently.

I could go on and on.

There are support groups for anutism anmd ADHD and care can be adjusted with a diagnosis. You can also get reasonable adjustments in services and it’s hugely helpful for MH. There are many reasons why diagnosis is helpful. CAMhS pushed for my DD’s diagnosis for those very reasons.

Many of us self diagnose before. We have to because wait lists are so long. ND people often doesn’t have the courage to tell work about their conditions with a diagnosis let alone without.

My DS1 is autistic so I do know what autism is. What I'm saying is why get a diagnosis if it's not in order to get help? For ADHD there is medication. Unfortunately there is none for autism.

Wow how lovely to be so abelist.

No. I was referring to people who have self diagnosed, not people with genuine diagnoses. People who have watched some bullshit TikTok video and decided they have ADHD.

And that’s you. I found it hugely helpful, as do many others. I don’t get to decry your choice, you don’t get to decry mine.

Also a few meltdowns does not autism or adhd make.

I have some autistic traits (masking, severe meltdowns when young teenager to the the point that I was taking into psychiatric care). It would have been good to have had a diagnosis at the time because they all thought it was something neurological/psychological and finally didn't have a diagnosis. I just got better at containing myself, masking and retreating when needing to be by myself. To get a diagnosis now at 45 has no sense. I kind of figured out how I have to live to manage.

We aren't allowed to suggest anyone just isn't very good at something any more, or that perhaps they just have to try harder at it. It has to be medicalised so that they can't possibly be expected to do anything to improve it themselves. The world must change around them, expect less of them, accomodate their every foible. No need to accept a bit of struggle/challenge/discomfort for the collective good.

It is individualism at its worst.

Can we also add in the announcement
that people dont just get DLA/PIP for having a diagnosis it goes off need?

Absolutely. Such ignorance.

Bullshit. Most of us with a diagnosis hide it. I’ve attended several NHS groups and
advice on should you tell your boss and how to is common- because so many struggle to do so for fear of being stigmatised.

😫

We are NOT all a little bit on the autistic spectrum.

They need to bring back public service announcements and this should be one of them.

Actually parents often don’t want a diagnosis either and push back. I’ve come across many parents who don’t want a diagnosis for autism and adhd and shy away when approached. Who wants their kid on a cocktail of medication that needs physical monitoring? I certainly don’t and spend many hours worrying about it.

Or that they shouldn’t be expected to do things like turn up to work on time, follow instructions or the like because they have been convinced they have ASD or ADHD without a diagnosis.

No only autistic people are on the spectrum hence the autistic spectrum
And having a diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean a person's entitled to PIP
It goes off need.

One of our kids is waiting for Autism assessment. They’re very clear that in their group and school self diagnosis is definitely meaningless. We’ve not even considered private diagnosis either as that’s not considered valid by NHS either.

We’ve a few work colleagues pursuing formal diagnosis to obtain PIP. I think we’re probably all on the spectrum somewhere, hence it’s a spectrum.

I sometimes ask if someone's child may be nd. If it's in your family you recognise the signs. The signs everyone insists are 'normal' when they're actually not always normal at all. If I had a quid for every time I'd been dismissed when my children were small.... They'd also be in a much better place now educationally and with their MH if we hadn't been dismissed all the time.

I also know very very few people in RL who use their asd/adhd as an excuse for anything (one to be exact!). Most are very private about it, probably because they can't be bothered with the exact judgment we see day in day out on here. But I suppose by its nature mumsnet will have more people saying they know someone who uses it as an excuse, than people who don't, because the latter's not very juicy to report on and won't create any uproar.

I'm not convinced many if any teens are after a diagnosis tbh. In my experience asd/adhd children are still very much bullied and excluded amongst their peers.

True. Modern life requires executive function skills and it’s assumed everyone has them. If they don’t, they’re “broken”.

Kids are being spoon fed a tonne of garbage on social media. This is a tiny issue compared to what else is out there.

That’s why it’s a parent responsibility to manage to phone/social media access. Teach them online literacy. How to research things they’ve heard about. What good quality information looks like.

You may not agree with it, but it makes sense if you look at the criteria.

Also, being able to drive doesn’t mean they do so with no difficulties.

I'm aware of this. But it makes no sense that someone who is able to drive to familiar places with no difficulties should get enhanced mobility

And yes I do know the criteria because I get it

Sorry if you already know this, but it is possible to sit the theory test at home if it wouldn’t be possible for them to sit it in a centre. Still 2 strangers, but not the same as a test centre if DS would cope with that.

Do you have driving lessons as part of DS’s EOTIS package?

To add to perfectstorm’s post. Someone can still meet Public transport is a sensory nightmare for some people, it can be more unpredictable than driving, it can require more communication skills and different executive functioning requirements. Also the criteria is a familiar journey, not any familiar journey. And it isn’t just the ability to drive that is considered, or the part of the journey that is undertaken by car.