social media is convincing all our kids they are nd?

But why would they wait until their fifties to get their hands on prescriptions? It doesn't make sense to me.

@Delphinium20 did you really say that? Lordy, help us all......,😭

Sorry, I was focused on the ADHD.

I don't use this SM shite but can imagine it's nonsensical and not helpful with these memes and trends.

Yet, the prevalence is huge, I am sure of that; and is significantly underestimated. But that reality is being undermined if there are silly SM trends misinforming and people are self diagnosing. I do always believe any adult who believes they are. Only if they're old enough and not sheep like. I don't know anyone who said they felt they were ND who I disagreed with to be quite honest.

I have various traits that could look ADHD like. I know I'm NT. I absolutely know this. I don't believe most people genuinely think they're ND with serious conviction unless they really are.

2 long term female friends I know have said to me they think so about these and I suddenly thought, wow, of course! One Autistic ( always seen as the difficult one, really irritated people in the group). I now see clearly, it wasn't her fault.

The other female friend, ADHD. YES, it explains loads, including amazing skills, I add.

In both cases, it was their ND children that raised the flag for them.

Not everyone is in the category wherein significant support/ carers are needed. This apparent explosion in more functional appearing ND declarations can feel very undermining to those who have loved ones dealing with so much.

I believe that being Autistic and or ADHD will become the dominant neurotype down the road. I don't like these classifications yet I refer to level 1 classification of those who are Autistic becoming predominant.

So what's changed? People who masked or were odd or ' difficult ' are now speaking out. And they meet other ND people and have ND children so the population truly has projected off the scale it seems. It's not a fad imo at all.

However, it's probably important we see many people as not actually the minority we had thought before and adjust our approach to that.

There are no prescriptions to help with autism.

I think they want it to get the prescriptions.

There's actually some very basic research out there that shows how much hormones can impact on women with autism, and how hormonal imbalances can have an effect on how well you cope.

On the surface, I "successfully managed my life" for over 35 years but that doesn't mean I wasn't autistic for those 35 years, it just means my condition was repeatedly missed by people who kept diagnosing me with other conditions. None of which I actually have.

Again, I'm not sure why so many people seem to think that grown adults actually want an autism diagnosis? It's a fucking shit thing to be diagnosed with and to have to carry around with you. I wish more than anything I didn't have it.

And methylphenidate, like amphetamine, is controlled substance (in the US, at least). And yes, these stimulants can be addicting.

They don't fix ADHD. Methylphenidate and speed increase alertness, attention, and energy levels in most people, which makes things easier in the short term.

It's why there's in increase in black market Ritlin and Adderall between teens and young people during exam season.

I don't disagree with you.

But what I don't understand is why so many people seem to think that grown, capable women in their 50's actually want to have autism or ADHD? It's a fucking shit diagnosis to carry around with you.

As if there isnt enough damage and dismissal going on generally about the impact of peri and menopause on women, its now changing into 'something else' rather that what it is

If someone has genuinely successfully managed their life until menopause and at menopause it all goes to shit then ergo they have managed and coped and only the menopause is the thing that has caused their difficulties. They havent been 'masking' as such but 'living'. Like everyone does.

But we can test the hormonal changes in peri and menopause. There's no biological marker test for autism to prove this one way or the other...so it's merely supposition that they've had autism all along but don't know it.

But medical practitioners do not measure dopamine nor track neurotransmitter activity when diagnosing ADHD. They are unable to claim that one person has a biological marker for ADHD and another has none (unlike finding a gene for breast cancer). So, diagnoses are based on behavior and trait categorization after interviews, surveys, observation. It's not a hard science. And, as noted above w/ journalist who got an ADHD diagnosis in under an hour, there is a risk that people are over prescribed, and wrongly told they have a disability/illness/disease.

Or maybe (for some people) it's both.

It's very well documented that many high-functioning people (especially women) can successfully mask and manage their autism for years until an outside factor hits and it all becomes too much.

@frozendaisy (I was going to quote your post but it got a bit long!)

I know two families, so there must be others, who went to numerous private assessments with their children and didn’t stop until one gave them medication.

And do you know the ins and outs of those children, their medical records and what those assessments entailed, plus all the outcomes? I'm guessing not.

A couple of adults who had been functioning fine then decided to just, well basically give up most of their adult responsibilities and pile a whole heap onto their spouse (and families) after an ADHD diagnosis.

Yes, because it's incredibly common for a diagnosis to lead to unmasking.

Some people do want a ND diagnosis, for whatever reason, and it seems can get one if they pay. Did you see the BBC documentary, the reporter got a diagnosis by an online hour interview. Why does that service exist?

As I've tried to say, no sensible, mentally well person seeks out a diagnosis that will actively limit their lives. If it's not ND, then they clearly have other things going on that need to be investigated.

So people do want a prescription however sketchy the diagnosis. Maybe not you, and no not everyone, but to think people aren’t seeking out these things is incorrect they are.

See above.

And social media has a part to play. So now when someone tells you they are ND it’s becoming harder to believe them, and for our teens it’s so prevalent they just shrug and go “oh” because they know what comes next, they are expected to make all the accommodations for their peer’s behaviour, so now they just give them a wide berth. They aren’t nasty or rude but they are fed up of being told they triggered someone by doing something normally teenage and not being aware of whatever it was being on someone’s trigger list. This is where some teens are now. And you really can’t blame them.

Well yes, you can blame them. Just because something is prevalent, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Completely agree that perimenopause messes with our functioning. So, it's not the ADHD, it's the peri.

You are right that methylphenidate increases dopamine availability, and that there is evidence to suggest decreased dopamine availability is part of the ADHD picture pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1119521/

The average or slightly below average in academics teenagers who don't have the parent pushing diagnosis so their kid can get accommodation get annoyed af at their peers who get an extra hour on tests or free tutors providing extra support. I work w/ a lot of teenagers who suspect it's bullshit, which gives me hope for the future and critical thinking. These same teens show great sensitivity and kindness to the kids who have a clear disability or for the kid who misses school because they are undergoing chemotherapy. It's the explosion in 'hidden disabilities' from people pushing for extra help for simply average kids that makes people question if many non-biological marker diagnosis are misused.

The emperor's new clothes, indeed.

Well as far I understand it ADHD drugs increase dopamine activity in the brain. Due to this the drugs help people with ADHD function more ‘normally’.

What is it that I have said is wrong? And what would be correct?

This simply isn't true. There's no measure taken of people's levels of dopamine and adjustment of levels to a baseline.The idea that low dopamine levels are the sole cause of various mental health issues, like depression or ADHD, is a myth.

Don’t they?
I know two families, so there must be others, who went to numerous private assessments with their children and didn’t stop until one gave them medication.
A couple of adults who had been functioning fine then decided to just, well basically give up most of their adult responsibilities and pile a whole heap onto their spouse (and families) after an ADHD diagnosis.

Some people do want a ND diagnosis, for whatever reason, and it seems can get one if they pay. Did you see the BBC documentary, the reporter got a diagnosis by an online hour interview. Why does that service exist?

So people do want a prescription however sketchy the diagnosis. Maybe not you, and no not everyone, but to think people aren’t seeking out these things is incorrect they are.

And social media has a part to play. So now when someone tells you they are ND it’s becoming harder to believe them, and for our teens it’s so prevalent they just shrug and go “oh” because they know what comes next, they are expected to make all the accommodations for their peer’s behaviour, so now they just give them a wide berth. They aren’t nasty or rude but they are fed up of being told they triggered someone by doing something normally teenage and not being aware of whatever it was being on someone’s trigger list. This is where some teens are now. And you really can’t blame them.

You can persuade people of anything, it’s not just ADHD, young adults/teens, are being manipulated by online nonsense about a great many things (adults as well) - it’s not a case of bigger things to worry about - it’s already here, in their pockets, in their bedrooms. It’s something new every week!

If you can persuade some kids to eat laundry liquid and end up in hospital how can you not think that persuading them that being scatty and untidy isn’t their fault?

The pseudo psychobabble that pervades culture does a disservice to everyone. It might not affect you and your young adults but to dismiss the harm social media can, and does frequently, do is a privileged position to be in right now.

We have regular conversations with our teens about social media, and it’s not all bad there’s fun stuff as well. Subjects are brought up which are difficult and embarrassing, but it’s handy to know what is being said in their playgrounds. Social media is influential within their peer groups, many will find an excuse for things rather than do any deeper thinking or put in hard work and our teens are part of this peer group. And for them, it does, at times, become incredibly tedious, after all they are teens themselves.

It’s dangerous to convince people they are ND when they aren’t

It's a good thing that's not happening then, isn't it?

Nobody wants to be ND. As someone with late-diagnosed autism - it is utterly fucking shit. It's exhausting. It's stressful. My entire life is ruled by it and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

If people are genuinely watching videos on TikTok and thinking "shit, I can relate to all of this persons' struggles" then the likelihood is that those people are also neurodiverse.

Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t persuade people they’re ND when they aren’t. If you can then the entire young population are loons, none are safe on SM and we have way bigger things to worry about than info on autism and adhd. 🙄

This is about social media influencing people that some of their normal characteristics are because of ND conditions, that many don’t have.

Not individual cases, no one is saying no one has ND, but some of the nonsense online does a disservice to everyone and you can see teens just shrug and think “oh so what” because it is becoming so frequent now.

It’s dangerous to convince people they are ND when they aren’t, it can limited options in life, halt emigration options, you do just wonder who is benefitting from the social media output? Yes a few individuals will make cash from online content, and yes there are some it might help, but there’s also thousands it will damage.

Yep. The ignorance on this thread from people who have absolutely no idea about ADHD and autism is sadly not surprising to me, though.

Maybe instead of blithering about things they know nothing about, they should instead just be incredibly grateful that they don’t need to worry about how to function every single day.