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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Fonagy report due this week

32 replies

WarriorN · 21/09/2026 21:13

This is the government review into mental health, ADHD and autism for children in the U.K.

The interim report is here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-interim-report/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-interim-report

bbc report here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqzrz0z4plk1o?app-referrer=deep-link

There is a clip / interview on Facebook from bbc breakfast with him. I’ve attached the screenshot

This is relevant to this board as it sits alongside the Cass review and mirrors how there has been an explosion of teens referred to GD services in the past decade.

Young woman looks out of her bedroom window

Young people are not snowflakes, head of mental health review says

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Prof Peter Fonagy says being young is much harder now than it was.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqzrz0z4plk1o?app-referrer=deep-link

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WarriorN · 21/09/2026 21:13

Screenshot from bbc breakfast

Fonagy report due this week
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WarriorN · 21/09/2026 21:19

From what I have read of leaks there will be a move away from chasing diagnosis as a first step and looking at immediate need for distressed and struggling children and putting certain things in to place earlier on, rather than waiting 3 years for a diagnosis which will only lead to doing exactly the same things, but 3 years later. During which time a lot of damage occurs.

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Mountainlarch · 21/09/2026 21:29

Thank you, I didn't know about this report.

ArabellaScott · 21/09/2026 21:51

Sounds sensible, she says tentatively.

Motnight · 21/09/2026 21:55

WarriorN · 21/09/2026 21:19

From what I have read of leaks there will be a move away from chasing diagnosis as a first step and looking at immediate need for distressed and struggling children and putting certain things in to place earlier on, rather than waiting 3 years for a diagnosis which will only lead to doing exactly the same things, but 3 years later. During which time a lot of damage occurs.

Yes, I believe the emphasis is going to be on needs led support. The Government's response will be interesting - a lot of money will be needed to do this well

WarriorN · 22/09/2026 05:14

It’s going to significantly impact education and how schools approach things.

I hope there is also going to be some busting of pseudoscience being peddled on social media.

I work in the area and we’ve already had cpd delivered by SALT about this. Because parents pick it up and come to us asking/ demanding about things that arent evidenced.

The parallels with the trans activist movement have been stark once I started to look for it.

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 05:23

BBC clip https://x.com/bbcbreakfast/status/2101906060957176058?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 05:28

Popping this here as it’s also relevant to sex gender discussions

Another question the Cambridge team is exploring is whether subtle differences between the sexes at birth have any bearing on people’s vulnerability to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. For example, autism and ADHD are more commonly diagnosed in males, while anxiety and depression are more common in females. “That’s the root issue that we’re really trying to understand here when we’re asking are there any differences present in males and females early in life and what causes these differences,” Khan said.

https://x.com/sbaroncohen/status/2101989087624245262?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

Simon Baron-Cohen (@sbaroncohen) on X

25 years after our original study showing there are on-average sex differences in the mind, we publish the first replication, confirming this https://t.co/jvdsBcJOs6

https://x.com/sbaroncohen/status/2101989087624245262?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 05:29

(Note subtle as well as groups of children- there’s always variation.)

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 06:01

I’ve also only just stumbled onto what Deborah Cohen has been researching since she worked with Hannah Barnes on the Tavistock scandal, and later also left newsnight.

This conversation is interesting:

https://x.com/deb_cohen/status/2102027710704857528?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

“I'll be interested to see what the report says and recommends. One point that came up when I was researching the book is a hierarchy of stigma in terms of diagnoses. Plus there's the other issue- bluntly- if you're a hammer everything is a nail.”

Deborah Cohen profile picture

Deborah Cohen (@deb_cohen) on X

The report describes what is happening in ADHD as “market failure”. What struck me when I was researching Bad Influence was how many of the claims appearing on social media could be traced back to market failure elsewhere. ADHD is one example. 1/2

https://x.com/deb_cohen/status/2102027710704857528?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 06:02

I wasn’t aware of her book:

Fonagy report due this week
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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 06:07

Have to say, I had zero useful advice with a couple of diagnoses, particularly hypermobility. Though it took a lot of searching and several years to get even the correct support there too.

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ArabellaScott · 22/09/2026 06:15

WarriorN · 22/09/2026 05:28

Popping this here as it’s also relevant to sex gender discussions

Another question the Cambridge team is exploring is whether subtle differences between the sexes at birth have any bearing on people’s vulnerability to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. For example, autism and ADHD are more commonly diagnosed in males, while anxiety and depression are more common in females. “That’s the root issue that we’re really trying to understand here when we’re asking are there any differences present in males and females early in life and what causes these differences,” Khan said.

https://x.com/sbaroncohen/status/2101989087624245262?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

Lots of interesting stuff in here, thanks Warrior.

ArabellaScott · 22/09/2026 06:18

WarriorN · 22/09/2026 05:29

(Note subtle as well as groups of children- there’s always variation.)

And crucial but easily ignored phrase 'on average'

WarriorN · 22/09/2026 06:24

Yes, very crucial. On average.

we are far too keen to box kids and adults up into neat categories.

so are the pharmaceutical companies

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ArabellaScott · 22/09/2026 06:26

Lots of factions have reasons for wanting to jump on the sexed brain stuff.

ItsPeggyOlson · 22/09/2026 06:28

@WarriorN sorry to pick up a point slightly away from the main topic, but would you mind sharing hypermobility resources? A physio I know advised me to try ChatGPT for help for my DC as it’s such a poorly understood condition but I haven’t yet gone down that route. Happy for you to DM if you are happy to share what helped, so as not to hijack this thread. Thanks.

WarriorN · 22/09/2026 06:36

What helped me as an adult is probably not what is going to help a child. The best person to help a child with hypermobility is an OT. Children also present very differently.

The OT we have at work has helped me recently via work she’s done with our hypermobile pupils!

The key thing is that it can be fully overcome as an adult, or it can be well managed and it’s only a chronic issue in some cases.

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 06:37

From what I’ve seen in recent bbc press is that it’s starting to be taken more seriously so it’s worth seeking out any advice from gp - there could be a hypermobility service locally on the nhs

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dreamingofgoodhair · 22/09/2026 06:58

Motnight · 21/09/2026 21:55

Yes, I believe the emphasis is going to be on needs led support. The Government's response will be interesting - a lot of money will be needed to do this well

this will need huge funding and resources, the MH provision in England is dire , I hope this won’t be the same.

WarriorN · 22/09/2026 07:13

It’s extremely radical and a big risk.

Ironically I feel those who support reform etc will agree with a lot of the main findings and suggestions.

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 07:16

But they won’t be prepared to recognise how much funding and cross societal support it will need.

It’s essentially a very leftist, holistic approach designed to avoid pathologicalisation as much as possible and help people help themselves. (Obviously not the children, children rely on adults to make sure this happens for them.)

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WarriorN · 22/09/2026 07:17

We’ve a generation of children for whom this hasn’t happened. They are now young adults. NEETS. The interim report stated that society had not been very good at telling these kids what actually helps them.

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MrsOvertonsWindow · 22/09/2026 07:28

Thank you. This looks really important. Wonder how influential it will be?

Wishesandhorses · 22/09/2026 07:42

Mmn.

This is a girder in the campaign to radically cut SEND funding for schools. My guess it will be rather like care in the community; in that it'll sound a good idea in theory (big, cold, badly run hospitals, institutionalisation, isolation, etc etc, wouldn't it be so lovely to have community provided care where people live) - and then turns out that there is no 'care' to be in the community, very little actual resources, just the person and community left without anything and required to find a way to manage. But it's going to sound absolutely lovely on paper.

Step one of this will be to devalue those working in SEND and suggest they're all madly over diagnosing for funsies (while actually working from the relatively decent documentation etc from the Blair Labour govt which did, actually, care and do things for this section of society, children and adults)
Then to discredit diagnoses a lot so the public stop having any respect for them and start expecting those with diagnoses to be hypochondriacs/just get on with it
Then to identify other things it could possibly be instead such as lack of exercise, diet, screens, mental health support, parenting styles, all of which would have a point and be really key to look at - but won't involve any actual proper research and certainly no action
It certainly won't be to look at why schools are becoming increasingly somewhere many children can't cope, or think about changing the fundamental issues

This is about removing funding and support from SEND children and getting society primed and messaged not to sympathise with the families and school staff that are going to be left high and dry, unable to cope, so when the outcry starts, there won't be public support for them. It's money driven, not child/need driven.