AIBU to ask why ADHD and autism are dismissed as disabilities?

Thats great for Greta Thumberg however for many people its extremely disabling.

Indeed my son has a rare chromosoe disorder thought to be the underlying cause of his autism and learning disabillities
Its literally a deletion of genes so veey much genetic and whist these condotions can be inherited in my sons case its de novo

I love this. What a great attitude to have about it! Greta Thunberg calls it her superpower. Her diagnosis means she sees the world in a different way and will have ideas and skills those of us that are NT will never have.

As I said 70-85% of people with autism are under or unemployed.There is no financial upside for the vast majority of people with autism.

I’m sorry I mean diagnosis. 8 out of 10 cousins have ASD and / or ADHD diagnosed.

Bully for you, traits do not a diagnosis make and 70-85% of people with autism are under or unemployed. There is no financial upside for the vast majority of people with autism.

Yes people dont seem to understand the difference between genetic and inheritable.

Having ND traits isnt the same as having an ASD disgnosis though
And whilst Autism and ADHD maybe genetic that doesnt necessarly mean its been inheritered from a parent
Also having a diagnosis doesnt mean someone is entitled to DLA/ PIP.

ASD and ADHD are genetic. There is loads of it in my family and extended family. We’ve all got high paying STEM careers which having ND traits has no doubt helped us get. I personally don’t claim benefits for the ASD child who’s disability is the most expensive - despite it costing lots each month - as I can see the ASD / ADHD in my family has also resulted in lots of financial upsides too (the high paying jobs). I think it would be wrong to claim for the expense of the downside while pocketing the cash from the upsides.

Maybe you need to look up the definition of disabled. It's not just about facing challenge
That is exactly my point! Look at the message I responded to! It's another poster who mentioned challenges in relation to disability!

Agreed, the idea that people (in the vast majority of cases - there will of course always be chancers and opportunists) are describing themselves as disabled on the basis of facing a few challenges is, shall we say, somewhat insulting.

Maybe you need to look up the definition of disabled. It's not just about facing challenges. I've been discriminated against many times for having a disability. That's far more than just having a challenge in my life

Again, if everyone facing challenges in their lives deemed themselves to be disabled, there would be very few non disabled people left.

This is the way it's going though with the growing number of people embracing the label of disabled.

Every body faces challenges in life! I happen to have a rare genetic disorder that puts me at a much higher risk of developing a certain cancer. I am screened annually. I'm disadvantaged from this perspective, but the fact that I got a diagnosis and receive free screening, and that I'm intelligent enough to understand what I need to do, and that all together, I'm expected to live in my 80s means that I'm not disabled.

How are you defining "managed well" for the person with a genetic disorder? Many disabled people manage well but they still have challenges and are disabled by their environment

You could take a famous athlete with lower IQ, are they disabled?

A person with unfortunate ugly features, but with a very loving partner, children, family and friends. Are they disabled?

A person with a genetic disorder, but that is managed well and their life expectancy is not affected. Are they disabled?

if you actually knew him you might see plenty of ways it disadvantages him
It does disadvantage him in some ways, but it is also counter balanced by all he has that others couldn't start dreaming of that massively advantage him.

The cast majority of people are disadvantaged somehow. Be it level of intelligence, look, health, where they are born, to whom they are born, fate, etc....

If we consider that everyone disadvantage in one way should be considered disabled, that leaves very few people.

I agree with all of this, however I recognize that I also CAN manage work even under huge amounts of stress, even though the work.itself comes with stress. I am.lucku to be academic and therefore earn well AND not have to work as hard as someone.less academic to study etc. I work much harder than average at trying.to carry out self care etc and at managing levels of pain due to hyper mobility and endometriosis

My children have been a turning point t though because what I CANT do is split myself in 2. When I've a child in hospital, a child in crisis, a child who I can't get I to his classroom without a struggle until 9.30 regularly, a child who doesn't sleep, a child who can't tolerate changes in plans and routine etc etc and those things have meant reduced hours, changed roles na loss of income.

We NEED his CDP payments because they give us room to breath. Room to say yes to sporting activities he may.not be able to attend after a point, room to drop a day and work and take reduced lah for flexibility, room to catch up.on sleep. Room to get a taxi when he can't be transported otherwise to a beneficial activity. We will absolutely be encouraging our kids to find careers that they can work in. My autistic husband has a great career in IT while.i have a very niche career as a woman with ADHD.

There are those dealing with children who are non verbal, who will never live independently etc and who really can't work for these reasons. I'm fortunate we have the options we have, as are you

@OwlBeThere this is true and the only things I know about him as well but I never see anyone defend him, people just think he's a prick. I don't see anyone saying "it's not his fault, he's on the spectrum" or that he needs support and understanding.

Well there’s the point that half his children do t want to know him, or the fact he’s totally tactless, he doesn’t appear to able to maintain relationships either personally or professionally for very long. and that’s just what i know of him as a person who actually avoids articles about him. if you actually knew him you might see plenty of ways it disadvantages him.

Has he spoken about how it has impaired him? Does he need to?

I agree, and that happens a lot on here. You also get posters saying that anyone on PIP that has kids is taking the piss as having kids is "harder than being disabled".
If someone has the kids already, what is to be gained by telling them they should not have had them? It is just putting the boot in.

Isn't the richest most successful man on the planet on the spectrum? How has it impaired him exactly?

"Clinically significant" and "substantial adverse impact" are different words with different meanings though?

It’s a moot point .

The Equality Act looks specifically at whether the condition has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities in their actual circumstances.

To get an autism diagnosis under formal diagnostic frameworks like the DSM-5 and ICD-11, symptoms must cause"clinically significant impairment" in important areas of life (such as social, occupational, or educational functioning) to receive an autism diagnosis. A diagnosis is for life and clinicians must verify that these traits were apparent during your developmental period (typically before age 3), even if they went completely unnoticed or unrecorded at the time.

One wonders if posters like to pick apart to ridiculous levels more visable disabilities.