To think a lot of children may be being misdiagnosed with Autism & Adhd

I have seen this is true. Trauma is always diagnosed as something it is not. I have seen it.

Nothing makes them vulnerable to abuse aside from being in the vicinity of abusers.

Absolutely you are correct with the last line - doesn't mean they have ADHD but they get that diagnosis! So why are they getting that diagnosis?

Labels go in trends. In 10 years ADHD will drop in diagnosis and something else will feature heavily instead. The history of diagnosis has followed this pattern for many decades.

Completely agree

Isn’t the alternative that the adults engage with the kids as much as possible, and encourage them to play with each other without adult support too?

I am not judging your SIL or your family at all btw - I totally get that screens are sometimes a necessary evil. But I’m genuinely wondering why just letting the kids play / playing with them as much as possible seems to be completely not an option? What happens if they don’t have a screen? Are they destructive or something?

There are whole generations who learned to behave without needing a screen. Plenty of alternatives.

Kids these days are seldom without any stimulation. We sat in the car and looked out the window, we might have talked. Kids now often have screens to watch in the car, on the bus, in the train, in doctor offices (instead of reading or being read to). Kids just don't know how to be bored or unstimulated anymore. We came up with some great creative ideas when 'bored' for a short while.

I know that's a generalisation and doesn't apply to everyone, but kids are so stimulated constantly. Brain down time is a good thing.

I think it's often both which makes symptoms worse. SIL's kids are definitely ND (one diagnosed) but not really severe. They still go to mainstream classes at school and have no learning issues. However the only way to keep them quiet for more than 5mins is to give them screens and/or sweets which they've resorted to as there are no other options. Nobody in the family is interested in interfering because it would mean trying to personally keep the kids entertained which is really difficult. At a recent family event, the 4 year old had about 8 hours of screen time the entire day and a phone in her hand virtually all the time. Everyone can see it's not ideal but what's the alternative?

The correct diagnosis is really important. My son was diagnosed autistic age 7 but my concerns about adhd were ignored because he sat rigidly quietly during assessments I.e. his anxiety overwhelmed everything else. I wasn't believed that at home he sang, climbed, jumped, talked etc constantly.

It took burnout and huge school based anxiety to finally get the adhd assessment. Adhd meds have made a massive difference to concentration and anxiety but have come too late to heal the damage caused by years of school issued. Hes 4 years behind despite being bright and capable.

Thank you OP.

I'd never actually heard of this but appears to fit one of my DC. I could never understand why his behaviour changed suddenly. He has a dual diagnosis of ADHD and OCD but over the years has grown out of many earlier symptoms which I know can be the case for some.

I'll look into it!

Then you should know how developmental history forms a big party of diagnosis.

And sometimes you have to be realistic and realise they can't do x because of x.

I have three degrees. My DH has three degrees. So what? We're still autistic (or what would have been Aspergers if we'd been diagnosed when young). We just have an autistic profile that allows us to get degrees.

I also have a very intelligent 20 year old who couldn't cope with university right now due to the challenges with their autism. It would be really unfair to not love and accept them for who they are and accept their limitations. Maybe one day they will be able to go to university or do something else, but this is not the time. Instead, I work hard to make sure they have every opportunity to develop and grow to maybe, maybe, one day be ready.

People aren't getting diagnosed because of personality quirks. It's a very wide and intensive assessment.

I agree - I think it’s important to bear in mind that there is no single test for ASD but rather a best fit from an array of behaviours/difficulties. Many of these behaviours are also indicators of other issues for example acquired brain injuries- (which occur much more frequently than is commonly thought.) and trauma and attachment issues etc. Many of these needs can also present from early childhood and be triggered later on by circumstances and increasing demands .

I work across several areas of SEND and I think that ASD is sometimes being used as a diagnosis to cover a wide range of needs. - just because someone meets the threshold for a certain set of behaviours doesn’t mean their presentation isn’t down to some other cause. And in some ways it makes no difference as often the support and strategies implemented would be the same/ similar.

"they can’t do x because of x diagnosis as opposed to saying they can do anything with extra support potentially."

This sort of thinking is what landed me in a 'Team around the child' meeting that was a complete waste of time. It was spent asking DD1 what she wanted to do when she was older, then everyone clapped and cheered and drew her answers in picture form on an A0 piece of paper. I was only allowed to say positive things.

So now I have a massive piece of paper in my drawer that says she's going to be a vet (she has significant LDs and can't be safely left at home alone at the age of 19), in America (they wouldn't give her a visa), and she's going to save all the animals. Meanwhile, I would have quite liked to address how we were going to get her to adequately meet her hygiene needs, be safe in the home, and cope with group activities.

It's a privilege to 'tap into potential'. DD1 would have drowned in a mainstream school.

I think you need to realise your daughter doesn’t speak for all children.

It doesn’t necessarily matter what combination you label a person with, what matters is that children have appropriate education, medical and or social support as required and crucially we have appropriate expectations for their futures (never assume they can’t because of x!) i actually think a far bigger problem is we have gone too far and are giving labels to normal variations in human personalities which some people are then using to limit their dc in some way eg they can’t do x because of x diagnosis as opposed to saying they can do anything with extra support potentially. Even sending kids to special schools is worrying because they lack academic rigour so often - I fought my council and won, my dd now has two degrees

Exactly this. Autism and adhd are under diagnosed in this country.

Both can be hugely hereditary which shows up during diagnosis as does helath and a complete history.

Yes it’s simply yet more autism bashing.

The can be an emerging picture with ASD and ADHD, which is clouded by LDs, though.

With DD1, I was told I was neurotic because even as a tiny baby, I was saying there was something not right with her development. I was literally told "Lougle, every baby is different. Stop being a nurse, stop reading the textbooks. Be a mother and enjoy your baby."

DD1's behaviour was so hard to manage. She was completely wired. She didn't sleep at night for the first 12 weeks. At all. She would scream from 10.30pm until 7.30am. After 12 weeks she started to settle at 6.30am, then 4.30am, then 2.30 am, etc. She couldn't support herself well, but when she learned to crawl, she would escape as fast as she could. When she finally walked (late), she could climb before she could walk properly, but she was very wobbly and had some very near misses when she climbed on top of things and almost fell off.

She was identified as being 'behind' at 2.6, then started falling over spontaneously. Then she was diagnosed with epilepsy. From there, she was diagnosed with global developmental delay. A CT scan was normal, I was told smugly by the paediatrician. However, a few months later, the MRI scan showed a brain malformation.

For the next 11 years, the paediatrician (who had a special interest in ASD) occasionally pondered whether she had just an LD, or whether she also had ASD. Her learning needs took priority. However, by 15 she had an eating disorder, partly as a result of COVID changes. After that, she was put on the ASD assessment waiting list and eventually diagnosed with ASD.

She clearly has ADHD but we can't get that assessed because it's too unclear how much her brain malformation and learning disability affect her attention. She has a very low attention span.

DD1 is considered very autistic with co morbid mental health difficulties and she will never live independently.

I guess what I'm saying is that the path to diagnosis is complex and unless a child has classic ASD with overt presentations or a clear regressive history, it's not a simple diagnostic procedure.

Exactly it's just another transparent way to try and get people to believe children are being overdiagnosed yet here i am with an obvious adhd child over five years down the drain no diagnosis not because he doesn't have issues because the system is backed up it's too late for help in his GCSEs now those are past he really struggled badly not because he isny bright but because he isn't medicated and he really would benefit from this he also has dyspraxia but getting that diagnosis has proved impossible he has suffered massively with hypermobile joints no help there either we have quite frankly given up he will be 17 this year what's the point? He won't be able to work to where he is capable in life because no-one will help him

It's a fucking waste but these people claim every kid is overdiagnosed and the parents are just out for the DLA which justifies the government's attack on the DLA/PIP system

I really can't believe this. ADHD diagnosis requires putting your child in the spotlight and a very careful evaluation of their life and medical history, social history, etc, is taken. You have to engage with a lot of professionals you could avoid, and would probably want to if you had something to hide. With supports, this holds true going forward as well. It's not a good way to go unnoticed!

The parents who present for ADHD evaluation are usually very concerned, caring and involved parents who have to work hard to go to bat for their child.

I am in my sixties and last year I was informally assessed as probably having ADHD and possibly ASD too. It was such a relief to have some understanding of why I had been struggling for years. I was referred for a formal assessment and told the wait was about 18 months. I recently chased this up to see how my referral was progressing and was told the wait is now 40 months!

Pandas mum here and yes, absolutely this

They could also just be small humans aka children

I don't think this is true - many women being diagnosed generally will have suffered trauma directly linked to their ADHD. They may choose unsuitable partners who may abuse them, they could be people pleasers and end up in difficult scenarios, make themselves vulnerable due to poor impulse control, likely to be anxious/depressed with poor self esteem which makes them vulnerable to trauma. It doesn't mean they don't have ADHD.

Doesn’t take long if you pay

I believe many with trauma are. I have seen abusers push for an ADHD diagnosis to prevent trauma being exposed.

as a parent of a child diagnosed with ASD, I'd say the real issue is that people with all sorts of SEN are at the moment being tossed into ASD. Mine is clearly MLD not ASD but what a decade it took to get anyone to admit that. There are fashions in these things it seems

As far as the conditions of life you mention in your first paragraph, it could also be that more autistic children are getting diagnosed due to these difficult things to deal with having increased. Those who may have been able to get by under the radar in the past in a quieter, slower world maybe not able to do so as easily in the modern world?