I have read that there are more neurodivergent children because we have earlier assessments, the criteria has changed, the DSM has changed its diagnostic criteria etc. I've also read that lots of children go undiagnosed, and it's nigh on impossible to get early assessment and there are huge waiting lists. I've read too that there are both more neurodivergent children, and also that there are not more but they are more visible. I wonder.......
My experience of working in children's services with looked after children may of course bias my opinion, but the children who experienced the most neglect were the same children who went on to be assessed as having ASD. Psychiatrists themselves in their reports would state these children had possible ASD, possible attachment disorder, possible emergent EUPD. They had not one fucking clue what they were seeing in these children. Some of these children displayed psychopathic behaviour such as animal cruelty, arson and violence towards others. All were emotionally disregulated and lacked empathy. They had no respect for authority. More than once I had to stand idle and watch one of the kids kick and punch the police. The children who had been subject to domestic violence were overwhelming from MC families. SA and emotional harm overwhelmingly seemed to produce AsD profiles and EUPD type presentation. The children who had suffered physical abuse were more likely to display the behaviour most associated with ADHD and were mostly of lower socio economic backgrounds. The vast majority of those from lower socio economic background had not suffered significant physical abuse though but still had a range of behaviour more associated with ADHD.
I think we live in an age of extremes. On the one hand we see anxious parents who often feel guilt at leaving their DC in early childcare settings. On the one hand they ensure the children are never free of supervision, have jam packed diaries of activities and experiences on the other hand they have sub contracted the boring day to day parenting chores of toilet training, sleep training, dealing with socialisation and learning to others. They reserve the right to manage these aspects but not to deliver or directly undertake. These parents have no respect for child care workers and will not countenance that their child may be struggling or have behaviour falling short of what is acceptable. It's guilt and fear. These children are more likely to suffer depression and anxiety as teens.
On the other end of the extreme we have the children who the last Labour government deemed in meed of early intervention and family centres. Isolated children not in attendance at early years child care settings. Parents of Lower socio economic class who often lack skills, insight and education. Many are vulnerable themselves, or perhaps known to SS from their own childhood. They can be selfish and seemingly ambivalent about their own children. These children are more likely to be labelled or diagnosed as having SEN and to present difficulties early in their school career, because they display challenging behaviours.
Both extremes are not more or less engaged in the day to day lives of their children, having made the choice to be present emotionally. And its that early emotional attachment that is key to raising happy healthy successful young people, who show empathy towards others. The ever present non working parents were not more present emotionally.
I've worked with children from MC homes and children from economically deprived homes. Most parents will say in true honest consciousness they want what is best for their children. But somehow there is a disconnection between what they say and what they do, and few have the insight into themselves to fully appreciate they may lack a basic emotional intelligence, and none will admit to their narcissistic level of self interest. In an age of introspection and self improvement we are more isolated from others, and in being isolated we have no mirror to reflect our own image back to ourselves. If people are a product of society with our subjectivity sieved through and filtered through our relationships to others, we now see that greed, avarice, vanity, competition, and the cult of "self" is both given but also likely to be the unintended consequence of our being shaped by those relationships. So yeah......same problems, different causes, same magnitude? it will almost invariably get worse.
And back to this question....are there more children with SEN, neurodiverge, and other developmental conditions? If so, why? and no despite my experience I fully acknowledge that the vast majority of children with these conditions are being parented, but I'd argue there is a not too insignificant minority that do not have these conditions, but are harmed by their early life experiences of sub optimal parenting.