Massive increase of children with autism

[TickingKey46]

I've noticed since the lock down there is a massive increase in children being assessed for autism and associated conditions. I mean massive.

On the school run parents are often discussing it it's become so routine. I'm really interested in why. Why are so many children being diagnosed with this condition?

I work in schools, and there is a massive increase in anxiety too.

DustyLee but why? What's changed to make such a massive increase. Feels like half my friends have a child with autism.

Simple really

more awareness
so more seek professional assessment and support
so more reported

It's an increase in diagnosis NOT people with it

People with ASC/ASD have always been there, it's that now we actively look for those who are struggling

agree with PP.

more awareness, social media is awash with parents of autistic children or adults being diagnosed because it was missed in childhood.

I started getting lots of Tik Tok videos about autism in adult women, related, so spoke to a doctor and went through the pathway to be diagnosed as an adult.

Before this my parents etc had always just labelled me ‘awkward’ or ‘it’s the way she is’

More awareness can only be a good thing :)

You could look at it another way. There’s a massive increase in awareness of what autism is and how its characteristics are displayed in individuals. Previously autistic people would have been labelled, a geek, a trainspotter, a nerd, the quiet one, the alternative one, the classical music player, the shy one, the loner, the depressed one etc etc. They’d make it through school (just) and perhaps get a job and then probably get forgotten by all friends, only really having contact with family.
we are aware so we are seeking diagnosis.

if you can’t see it that way then how about this way…. Many more adults are also getting diagnosed, some due to their kids diagnosis and others due to having a breakdown.

If adults are also getting diagnosed, then these are simply the numbers that should’ve been diagnosed when kids. If they had been diagnosed years ago, you wouldn’t be commenting on an increase in numbers in recent times.
please do not see COVID as the watershed - it’s not. People use this as a marker as it was such a big event in our lives.

happy to discuss more if you don’t understand what I’m saying…

I would guess a combination of

no new referrals during covid, so catching up

(some) kids having 1:1 learning with parents, who were able to notice trates that might have been missed in a room of 30.

Changes to lifestyle highlighted struggles, which had previously been missed (eg. If a child struggles with crowds, then months on no crowds then back to normal life makes that obvious, otherwise it can be hard to pin down what the triggers are, so struggling just becomes normalised)

Yes more awareness. I’m quite old (primary school in the 80’s) and I can now see quite clearly that some of the children in my very small primary school who were deemed ‘the odd kid’ were struggling with things like autism. And there was no support help or understanding by anyone.
similarly i remember one really naughty (but the kindest ever) child who was so disruptive and disorganised. Could never completed their work. Always getting told off poor child, and in hindsight the behaviour screams ADHD to me.

I think we’ll get to a stage (hopefully) where these things aren’t seems an neurodiverse or different. And we’ll come to an understanding that society is made up of a variety of different brain types and schools and society in general will start to reflect that. It’s a long haul but we’ve come a long way since 1980.

Totally agree, it didn’t used to be diagnosed, I think dyslexia is similar in that the awareness didn’t used to exist.

It’s not that there’s now more people with Autism, Dyslexia or anxieties but as a society we recognise them better and have support available.

Increase in awareness doesn't quite explain it in my opinion.

Unless there's a sudden rise in ASC in comparison to previous decades.

COVID seems to have had a massive impact on the number of referrals.

The jurie's out I think. I think it's possible there is an increase in ASC.

In our experience they were on the increase before lockdown, as waiting lists etc were appalling before that, due to underfunding and a massive increase in children wanting assessments.
We heard lots of parents talking about "traits" in their children and trying to force for assessments, before lockdown.
I'm sure that lockdown did effect some children with anxiety, some lasting longer than others.

We do see more children coming through our mainstream school now who need additional help or are waiting assessments, (these are not lockdown effected years though).

I think this is why they are changing the parameters for who can and can't get support as they wouldn't be able to cope with so many children who previously would've struggled through school not knowing and only got a diagnosis later on.

This is the new normal.

I'm only seeking a diagnosis because it's having a detrimental effect in my child if it wasn't I wouldn't bother

A lot of people, adult and children, noticed the difficulties more when we were in lockdown so everything that had been normal and the routines people had put in place got ripped away from them. It highlighted issues which until then had been plastered over

Who knows it may be that the overall population is more like 60:40 NT:ND the more education and society moved towards better suiting NT the more ND people struggle.

Perhaps you know we should change education, work, societal expectations so that ND can thrive. Mass WFH had made many ND people realise how much they struggled with the office environment and they literally cannot face going back after living at a lower stress and anxiety level for a few years.

Yes I agree its more awareness and diagnosis. Also the bar for diagnosis is lower than it used to be. As you know its a very broad spectrum and historically only those on the more profound end were diagnosed. I don't know the specifics of how diagnosis is made etc. Most people at the milder end can get by and always did but also benefit from the right supports. To give an example, my two sons have autism and thankfully at the higher functioning side - one is combined with ADHD, the other has Aspergers. Since I began reading up on it I realise my Dad had autism, obviously I'm not in a position to diagnose but he is so very typical of an autistic man it's almost comical no one ever noticed. It's made me more forgiving of his 'odd' behaviours. I also see that my DH has very strong ADHD traits, whether he would cross the threshold of diagnosis I don't know, but the tools recommended for my DS help him too.

I think non diagnosis was linked to a lot of mental health problems which is why it's being really focused on now, but I don't know specifics re studies etc.

Although i will say that a few parents have been heavily questioning me about my ds (has always had major issues people being involved from age 1 so pre covid as he is 10) and parroting them back to senco as if its their child I'm now not telling them a thing because at least part of there child's issues are caused by them you can't lock a child in for four years and expect them not to have difficulties

The world is getting less and less tolerable for ND people.
So fewer are flying under the radar.

Tbh I'm not convinced about ND and NT- there seem to be fewer NT people, which suggests ND is a perfectly normal state of being

Some people with ND also have learning disabilities or other conditions which make everything harder and more complex.

I believe the world is actually not working for a good chunk of people now. Too noisy, pressured, stressful, erratic and inconsistent.

The very structured world we used to live in was easier for a lot of us. Routine, predictable...

Yes, this.

Though I don't think the world suits 60% of people any more! Perhaps the loudest 20%!

Increased awareness, more ability to have a assessments.

My younger children were diagnosed first as it was much more obvious. Our teen it wasn't picked up till she was in 14. Once signs were there, it was easier for the SENCO to refer as the younger siblings were diagnosed. It was after that our second child was picked up and referred.

I was then diagnosed as an adult.

Also the bar for diagnosis is lower than it used to be.

NHS South West and some other areas are now refusing referrals for ASD diagnosis unless there is significant evidence of need for a diagnosis - family or education breakdown, or e.g. non-verbal child. There are many autistic children who will be unable to access a diagnosis as a result.

Because people like me aren’t told anymore as children to ‘behave like everyone else’ , ‘snap out of it’ , ‘be braver’ , or that we needed de sensitising or were an embarrassment to the family instead they are assessed, diagnosed and supported

Yep was about to add that. This is such a backwards step and a real disservice to those whonare autistic. Knowledge matters.

My first dd is diagnosed. Second dd is obviously the same- but as she isnt perceived to have issues at school (she looks like a perfect student....) we can't get a referral. The fact our whole life is geared towards structure routines, scaffolding interactions .... support etc makes no difference. We just wait til she crumbles at secondary 🙄.

Is it the same in other countries?

They were on the increase before, but exploded post lockdown.

An increase of 350% in referrals since the 1st lockdown in some areas. Leading to referrals being closed to only the most severe/high risk cases.