Why so many ND now?

[Jumpking]

Had much with 4 friends yesterday. All the ladies told me they're waiting for ASD assessments for their children.

I know so many parents of ND kids.

I don't think I'm unique.

There was around 5 or 6 ND children in my primary school growing up. Now this is per class, minimum. The children weren't in special schools, they just didn't exist in such high numbers.

What do you think has been the sea change in our society that means there are now far more ND children than there were 30 years ago?

(And it isn't because they weren't diagnosed 30 years ago, or we weren't aware... There really weren't children in my school, or the school's of friends I've discussed this with, who had sensory issues, or clothing issues, or only beige and/or dry food, or toileting issues, or obsessive interests issues or all the other ND things which are so prevalent with children today)

None of them make a person ND though, do they? I'm not sure what the purpose of your list is.

As well as all the previously mentioned things I can think of at least a dozen “bad” or “naughty” kids that I went to school with who, with hindsight, were clearly ND.

I can also think of a few who were expelled and bounced around different schools who also likely were.

@Neverendingdust
How does your list line up with the large numbers of adults being diagnosed?

None of those things applied to my childhood (except maybe genetic mutations ) and I have just been diagnosed autistic aged 51.

@Jumpking That's an awful lot of assumptions there in your OP! It's called masking!! Some are extremely good at it, especially when they don't know there's anything different about them and they just naturally copy others. So yeah, definitely were just undiagnosed.

The eating issues I think is as a result of all the easier options these days, when they're refusing to eat proper food - I say this as a parent of a child with fully diagnosed ASD who eats the same thing every day! When I was a kid, it wasn't just a case of being forced to eat what we were given; there quite literally was nothing else. Plus my mum made us proper dinners from scratch, every single day (Even after she'd been at work all day). So there were no additive-laden alternatives for me to become hooked on and refuse to eat anything besides. Also with a very limited/if any understanding of Neurodiversities back in them days, there was CONSIDERABLY less understanding and therefore perhaps many ND children were sadly forced into ignoring their food-related issues and eating what they were given anyway, to avoid being reprimanded or starving. Just a theory.

The only other possibility is simply that the ND adults have gone on to have multiple ND children of their own and so on & so forth. The hereditarian link has already been proven, after all.

Also, back in the 70s & 80s, those children who were picked up as having quite noticeable ND, we're just thrown into 'special schools' and only very high functioning (diagnosed) ND children were in mainstream school and even in the 90s when I was in high school (95-99) there was a 'Special Needs' class.

@Neverendingdust How does that explain my 91-year-old FIL who certainly has ASD or my DH who also had it? A huge number of your 'reasons' just would not apply to either.

Your post makes me sad.
Not all ND kids appear that different.

I'm 46 and waiting in diagnosis after initial assessment.

Sailed through most of school like I was a soldier. Came out with highest grades
No friends, no social skills, left Uni within 3 weeks. Life spiralled, cannot keep a job even though highly intelligent.

As my Mum said - back in the 70s if someone said Autistic you'd expect a child who could not communicate and was rocking back and forth (which I did all the time!)

I've lost my life being told I was depressed, I've had 2 children raised on my own and to be fair looking back probably did push their fathers away. I have no friends, no relationship, I get through life masking (and often self harming)

So yes it was there and did exist but nobody recognised it. Which is why my life has been so bloody awful and sad

I wasn’t saying my list was an answer more a set of potential reasons why children could struggle in today’s world. I suppose the range of needs and triggers is so broad that correlation amongst them all is most likely impossible.

My secondary school was very average, I was (thankfully) fortunate to always be in the ‘top sets’, the other 5 classes I. The year group descended down to ‘bottom set’ which was often filled with kids who had needs that could not be adequately met in a regular school and today would have support structures in place to better help them.

A lot of disadvantaged kids and ND kids were left behind and failed by the system simply because they didn’t conform to the ‘norm’ but that was 20 years ago.

But, you know, my previous post where I explained that my teen is blind and autistic and can struggle to make her own sandwich because not all packaging has Braille. And she attends a No Nut school because if she/we made a mistake, then another child could potentially die.

Honestly, as I keep reminding my DD, having an autism diagnosis does not preclude one from being an arse from a societal point of view. It truly isn’t a Get Out of Jail Free card for bad behaviour.

@pixie5121 , Honestly, if I could determine how much of my DD’s difficulties were precisely because of her blindness, or her autism, or her PDA, or her ADHD or her neonatal abstinence syndrome or her binge eating disorder or her teen hormones, then I could magically wand away about 98 per cent of our family difficulties in a heartbeat. The fact is, I can’t do that, much as I would love to - because my DD is a multilayered, complex human being with multiple challenges.

It’s great that you, as an autistic person, are so capable; my elderly mum’s neighbour’s son, who is also autistic, beats his head for hours at a time on his bedroom window and stims - loudly - all day long. I’ve never asked, but I doubt he could make his own sandwich.

@pixie5121 , actually, blind people can be very capable of making their own sandwiches; you are showing your disablist prejudices here.

@pixie5121 , you are very rude and abusive, but I experience this on a daily basis from my DD, with her multiple diagnoses, so I am used to it.

Actually, I identify as a straw PERSON rather than a straw MAN, being a woman and a gender critical feminist and all.

The simple point I am making is that not all people with ASC fit an identikit ‘one size fits all’ cookie cutter template. My DD can’t make a sandwich for love or money and I am not going to waste my life determining how much of her inability to do so is because of her various disabilities ie autism vs blindness. But what I do know is that my DD could kick your arse and mine into space thanks to her judo black belt.

In regards to the pp who mentioned about living in institutions and not being able to make sandwiches etc.

Many people with profound difficulties do live in institutions/ inappropriate hospitals and can't make sandwiches. There is a campaign to get them out and the government have targets to get them moved into the community with support. This is scandalous. Sky news cover it periodically.

Many people with autism can't live independently, people with profound needs wouldn't be able to engage in this discussion, let alone make a sandwich.

Not everyone with the autism diagnosis needs high levels of support. This is the problem with the diagnosis, it covers too many people and too many different presentations.

I'm well aware of the 'spiky profile' of autism and that it's perfectly possible to be high achieving in some areas and really struggle in others. That doesn't negate the fact that the vast, vast majority of autistic people who are 'high functioning' enough to go to mainstream school, do exams, go to uni etc., are generally capable of making a sandwich at least some of the time.

The key point being "some of the time".

But also, someone might be capable of making a sandwich, doesn't that mean it makes sense for them to make one before school (either sometimes or all the time), because the stress of worrying about making lunch could mean they can't then cope with a full day of school as well.

I'm capable of doing lots of things, but if consistently forced myself to do them, I would end up stressed, overwhelmed, and burnt out. It's one of the reasons many autistic people (myself included) struggle in full-time employment - there's only so long you can mask and push-through for before it gets too much and you shut down.

For a school child with autism, my priority would be getting them through the day as calmly as possible. If that meant I made my teenager their lunch everyday, then that's what I'd do, regardless of whether they were technically capable or not.

Just a few relevant pages:-

www.google.com/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/autistic-teen-girl-locked-up-24-hours-a-day-shes-not-an-animal-says-father-11849347

www.google.com/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/still-too-many-people-with-a-learning-disability-or-autism-in-hospital-says-care-quality-commission-12574551

www.ncsautism.org/blog//grim-future-for-adults-with-autism

My DM refused an autism assessment for me in the early nineties she was mortified it was even suggested . I think there was a lot of stigma attached to being ND then

I do wish more neurotypicals were able to deal with basic logic. I think it would make things easier for everyone.
😂

@pixie5121 in the kindest possible way I suspect you may be unable to determine the lack of empathy in your posts because of your neuro-diversity. I hope you have the support you need in real life. I appreciate ND affects different people differently.