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?

If you read the entire post, it’s (I believe) clear that the posters point was that parents are constantly now on their phones, rather than interacting.

You selected one small section of the post which says “parents had no option but to focus on their child”, if you read the whole post, it does specifically say “in a park/ parents on phones” “pushing a buggy with one hand, scrolling with another- no eye contact no communication”. The point of the post being that the presence of phones have reduced interaction with children and indeed more broadly have reduced face to face interaction between all of us.

I do think technology has affected all of us with concentration

What an earth did we do,before them

@AutismProf - do we know yet what the diagnosis rate is from this referral spike, or are most children still on waiting lists?

My PDA child follows a clearly pda father and grandfather. They were not diagnosed, they were shamed and beaten. They learned not to 'act out' through fear. The story is that the grandfather was almost killed by one beating. Now we know better, with diagnosis and alternative parenting h methods. Most people do not know my child has pda as I've learned how to manage it and he's learning how to regulate and care for himself.

@greyflannel
Still mostly on waiting lists sadly. In our area it's at 2 years so we are concluding assessment on kids referred in early 2021 ATM.

I do think the way classrooms were set up in the 80's and 90's was more suitable to people who are ND.

Single seats, nothing on the walls, sitting in silence. Easier to cope.

Today it's all project based, stimulation everywhere, Etc etc

Thanks @AutismProf he has been diagnosed with that within his ASD diagnosis. With us at home he is always talking…. he finds things that interest him, researches them and then tells us all about what he has discovered including his own theories, arguments for and against, how to address a problem (where there is one) etc. But if our neighbour who has been there all his life speaks to him in the garden you can see him trying to speak but he simply can’t and he starts shaking and his heart rate shoots up.

Definitely.

I'm 45 and my concentration is appalling compared to my childhood.

And no, it's not peri-menopause. It's knowing that there are millions of sources of information and entertainment at my fingertips which provide alternative sources of entertainment and interest, but also distract me from the matter in hand.

And I don't use social media like FB, IG, Snapchat, Twitter etc. I use Mumsnet on a sporadic basis and look up current events or the news on a similarly sporadic basis.

In the good old olden days my 21 year old would have been locked in an institution from a young age. My 16 year old would have been left to it at school, constantly on report for not doing his homework, ignored because he wasn't disruptive (basically as I was at school) Maybe finding his niche at college when he finally found something he was interested in (surprise - he's doing engineering. Mine as media studies as I was obsessed with radio!) but with minimal GCSEs.

That's why we didn't "hear" of autism/adhd back then. Thinking back to my school days I can think of several kids who were probably autistic or had adhd (including my brother, who, it's plain to see now, had very obvious adhd)

There's a controversial topic. PDA not being something that is in the DSM or ICD diagnostic manuals and still creates huge arguments among Autism 'experts'.

Actual anxiety, or just more kids feeling more anxious about things in general?

Criteria changed that meant that people on the more high functioning side - I hate that term but it's widely used - are now included in the diagnostic criteria instead of it being the children/adults on the other end of the spectrum.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's and ADD 20 years ago. It was unheard of that a girl had one of these these conditions nevermind both and how "rare" it was because it's boys who have it. Girls and women were massively under diagnosed because of how we present and learnt behaviour. I guess I was one of the lucky ones although there was no support in schools like there is now and no support from my parents. My parents were told to treat me the same as they always had including smacking to keep me in line. The school were also instructed to be extremely firm with me. It was also believed that add symptoms lessened when you because an adult.

Awareness has changed everything and I think that can only be a good thing.

I thought the link with drugs and alcohol.is more about parents who self medicate as they are undiagnosed ND

many children now being seen since being referred in august 2020.

My 10 year old daughter has just been diagnosed as autistic. It was discussed with us when she was age 5 by her Teacher. It’s taken over 5 years, to get a Camhs assessment and diagnosis. Bless her life for a neurodiverse girl who also has severe dyslexia is blooming hard. She struggles everyday trying to fit in with a busy noisy frantic world.
people are not trying to join a new fad. It’s really hard and as more information is available I hope people get diagnosed and the help they need. And that the world works towards helping them.

I wasn't autistic and I didn't have ADHD at school.

Except. I did - I just wasn't diagnosed.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'actual anxiety? Or more anxious about things in general?'. What do you think is the difference?

In my LA there was a school survey done before covid asking children not about anxiety in those terms as the term 'anxiety' isn't one used by everyone and not by lots of DC , but the question was something along the lines of "is there something you worry about a lot?" follow-on questions were along the lines of "is there more than one thing you worry about a lot?".

I'm paraphrasing but it was similar to that. Other questions went on to ask questions about being worried about school, bullying, things at home, things in the news like war or climate change etc.

There was a marked increase in the pre-covid to post-covid 'worrying' answers.

Also a marked increase in the DC identifying as trans or non-binary even in primary school but that's a whoooooooole other conversation and debate.

I think the previous poster means anxiety is something we all feel at times but is not something we all have a diagnosis of or need diagnosis of. They are not the same things.

@greengreengrass25 that’s definitely me, i barely go anywhere since lockdown other than walking the dog and to the nearest garde centre. I actually went into a nearby city a couple of weeks ago the first time since lockdown. I used go at least 3x a month.
I found being deaf and people wearing masks completely isolated me because I couldn’t lip read anymore.
I have done an online autism test and it states that I’m ‘strongly autistic’ 🤷🏼‍♀️
Who knows? I’m quite happy doing my own thing much of the time.

No, you're right, it's definitely not simple, but instead of streaming by ability, you could look at a quiet classroom and an interactive classroom - I'm not an education specialist so I couldn't say what's best, but so many parents of ND children (and there is an increase for whatever reason) say that their children are being failed. Stream the year by learning style instead of pace perhaps? My DC is being assessed for ADHD and I don't know what the answer is to help them. They would benefit from a quiet non-interactive environment otherwise they disrupt and are disrupted by others.

Ds is still only 13, and his interests skills lie in different areas, but so much of this sounds like ds. From bouncy, away with the fairies kid, to introverted teen who never leaves the house and goes into panic mode if we do something like invite neighbours round for a bbq. But because his panic just looks like he's not bothered, none of us realised just how much life is causing him anxiety. It was only some more extreme behaviour that made me start look to examine his behaviour more closely.

He wants a job where he doesn't have to talk to anyone, yet excels in public speaking and drama. He just can't do it if he's being 'him' or has to make small talk or engage in a conversation he hasn't started.

I think it depends where you went to school. It was all projects and fucking group work in 90s high schools. Rarely silent. Then there was the 'girls do better at cw; boys at exam' idea which used to make me confused, because give me an exam i wouldn't revise for over cw I'd procrastinate over, any day.

Schools struggle because we're catering to so many different needs, often ones which contradict(Clive needs absolute quiet; Pamela needs to be stimulated; Ken needs to be able to move around the room; Sharon gets distracted by people moving about; Abol is EAL and hasn't got a fucking clue what's going on, but there's no provision for him) and they're all sitting a one size fits all exam at the end.

Anxiety and anxiety disorders are different.

Anxiety that we all feel at times but don't have a diagnosis of or need a diagnosis of is still anxiety.

Anxiety is anxiety. Everyone experiences it to varying degrees. It can be helpful in some ways and destructive in others.

But it's not 'not anxiety' if it isn't a full-blown diagnosis of anxiety disorder and something that lot's of other people experience. That just means it's anxiety as experienced commonly.

Mmm but diagnosis isn't needed to parent your child as an individual. My child wasn't diagnosed until his teens but it became clear really quickly that 'normal' parenting wouldn't work for him. So we went with our instincts and parented him(and still do) in a way that worked for him. I don't think a diagnosis is needed to not beat/shame/or anything else bad to your child, a little bit of cop on and observation of their needs is all that you need.

I think maybe people need to feel empowered to stray from the 'norm' a little. To not let the pressures of how you 'should' raise children actually get in the way of how you do parent them. The same goes for people who want to live their lives outside of the norm a little, so you don't like socialising in groups? So what, just say no thanks, I'll sit this one out. So you can't function in a busy office, so what, get a job where you can etc. There is so much trying to fit square pegs into round holes, this goes for nt people and nd, so much doing stuff you don't want to because you feel you 'have to' and it leads to stress and unhappiness all round.

I have children who are neurodiverse(autism/adhd/dyspraxia) and also have atopic conditions(asthma/eczema/allergies). I know several families where the children have both groupings. There is now lots of research that shows that children who are autistic are more likely to have atopic conditions.
There has definitely been an increase in the amount of atopic children(including hospital admissions etc). This increase seems to be best explained by changes in the environment(pollution/microplastics/ poor diveristy of gut bacteria) working in conjunction with genetics. In my family there are people with mild allergies/eczema/asthma, but my children have far more severe conditions.
I always wonder if the same is the case with neurodiversity(asc, adhd, dyspraxia, dyslexia). Again, I can recognise autistic/adhd/dyslexic traits within mine and my husband's families, but only in this generation(my children and some cousins) do the children have a higher level of need. I wonder if the same environmental factors that are increasing the rates/severity of allergies etc are also increasing the rates/severity of neurodisabilities?
Obviously, these are just the thoughts I have had when thinking about my own children/families I know.