The fraud is awful but why isn't eveyone more worried about the children

[pleasemothermay1]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/15/mother-jailed-for-forcing-children-to-undergo-unnecessary-medica/

The fraud is 😳 But tbh the focus should be more of the harm she did to the children rather than the money ff this is very frightening

Poor children

And the poor GP new somthing was a foot but was ignored

Holy crap, Witchend, you just blew my mind.

I genuinely had no idea it was that common for people to fake disability.

Wow.

Imagine wanting your NT child to take a place away from a kid with SN.

And imagine teaching your child to lie and commit fraud.

I know that all systems are gamed, but for some reason I thought people were better than using their kids like that.

Stupid of me.

Doinit it's not common tho, that's why by and large parents are trusted. This was what less than 4% of the kids, in an area with local crap schools that would have exaccerbated the liklihood of it occuring. Most parents with suspicions of having a child on the soectrum fight for years from a very young age for a diagnosis, not suddenly declare an issue at year 5.

Spectrum

Well it's no different from people making their children fake a passion for god so they can get into the CofE school really is it?

Although trying to get a statement in year 5 seems a bit futile - I have been waiting five years for DS to get a diagnosis and he's about to go into year 5. His primary school initially referred him in year 1 - not me. He certainly won't get a statement (or EHCP as they are now)

Well it's slightly different isn't it. You don't go to prison or get out on the CP register for trying to get into a C of E school.

Totally agree with Gasman's post.

There really are conditions which have no definitive test to prove the diagnosis. Instead, they are clinical diagnoses based on signs and symptoms or a diagnosis of exclusion (where tests have all been negative and so having ruled out all the other differentials that fit the symptoms described by the patient/carer this is the diagnosis arrived at). Feeding difficulties is indeed one of those conditions- there are causes of these which would not show up on any scans or blood tests.

Presented with a child who is undernourished and with a plausible description of symptoms, it is easy enough to see how this could happen. Add in a supposed complex past medical history- and here I also agree with Gasman with regards to these category of patients and the difficulty of reading all of their (often extensive) medical records in the time allotted for an appointment.

But this woman hasn't been sent to prison for faking her kids' symptoms, she's been sent to prison for benefit fraud.

I don't think autism is a really big issue in this case - it's the gastro stuff and needless operations that are awful.

Yes she was Lynda - she was convicted of child cruelty too. The press reports don't have the full detail but presumably on the basis of making them go through unnecessary operations etc as a result of the faking of symptoms.

Wow OP, tour post about your sister and your nephews ADHD just blew my mind...and not in a good way. You do realise that ADHD is an actual 'thing' don't you?

I don't understand how someone gets an operation without proof they need one. Especially stuff such as stomach problems which I assume from the story...they have scans and that to check whats actually the issue before they go cutting pieces off you surely?

It depends. I eventually had an ovary removed but it was the third operation. I'd been admitted to a number of hospitals with lower right side abdo pain. I had my appendix out years ago so not that.

It wasn't until my fourth admission that they scanned me and found a cyst the size of a grapefruit. It had been building up and then bursting and that was what caused the pain - so the other tests didn't show anything.

That was after my first operation where they were looking for adhesions because everything else had been ruled out (including ovarian cysts).

Abdo symptoms can be so diverse it is difficult to pin down sometimes even when it is genuine.

Here we go again with the autism /Adhd nonsense

Another thread riddled with it.

Bitcat kids can sleep and present differeny in different situations. How scary that you are accusing a parent of MBP tendencies just because a child was better behaved with you.

And that's tip of iceberg on this thread.

But no point reporting these days it's all healthy debate

Unfortunately I know of several parents who claim there child has Autism or Adhd and they don't..because they are totally different kids and do not act that way at my house

It's a good job no one depends on you for a diagnosis because what you've described is very common in those who are on the spectrum.

I'm glad others have also picked up on Bitcats expertise. 🙄

I met a parent last week who told me her kid was autistic. I questioned it as he was young to have received a formal diagnosis

I knew within minutes of my son being born 26 years ago that something was amiss. Id even suspected it when pregnant. My pregnancy just didn't feel right.

When he was 8 months old I read a half page article in the Woman's Own About something called Autism. I knew there and then my son was Autistic. By the time he was 12 months old I told my friend I know what it is so I was glad Lorna Wing agreed with me 4 years later but I hadn't actually needed her to.

Information about children with autism behaving differently in different environments.
www.autism.org.uk/about/behaviour/common-questions/school-home.aspx

But ohdearme would you have represented that information to a doctor in a completely different specialty as autism or "I think he has autism".

I have no truck with the latter I know several kids (both professionally and socially) who will probably have an ASDdiagnosis in the next few years and who we use autism behavioural techniques with. But their parents don't tell people they have a confirmed diagnosis of autism.

In actual fact the child I met at work didn't sound to me like his behaviour was typically ASD. It looked more like an ADHD/ODD but I did only see him for a short period but I assumed (might have been wrong) that his Mother knows he is a bit weird and Was using the current societally acceptable label to communicate his oddness to HCPs.

I know why parents do this but in pressurised hospital consultations it can mean kids acquire an incorrect label. It could actually stop them getting the correct diagnosis and treatment (say you came to see one of my gastro colleagues about feeding issues but told them a diagnosis of autism had been made, the Paeds gastro consultant wouldn't then suggest a referral for an autism/behavioural assessment as they would assume it had already been done when in fact it hadn't). Not seeing the correct team means your child doesn't get access to the albeit sometimes limited support available and sometimes parents do it deliberately to mislead professionals.

So in summary please share your kids oddities (especially with me as a Paeds anaesthetist - knowing they aren't NT helps me give them a better experience) but don't communicate that by using self applied label. If you are worried about Autism/ASD say that (or if small ears that you want to protect a bit are listening a social-communication disorder) but don't tell me they have a diagnosis when they don't.

Rant over.

Hmm, that is tricky gasman. Ds has no diagnosis, when he has had to have a general anaesthetic or a blood test, I will detail his health issues, and will explain that he has 'autistic tendencies' - because the hcp then seems to understand the extent to which ds will freak out about Emla cream, that distraction will not work with him and that it will be incredibly difficult.

I do this because in the past, this has not been taken seriously and it is only when they have started, and failed, and ds is hysterically kicking and fighting people, and people are running to get help that they do take me seriously.

Re: children on the Spectrum behaving differently in different environments:

We saw Dr Daphne Keen some years ago.
She is super-qualified and sits on the Board of NICE.

She said it was 'as typical as can be' for children on the spectrum to behave differently in different environments.

At School / friends house they often 'contain' as much as they can.
That pent-up strain is then carried to a more secure environment.
At home, where they are most relaxed, the 'behaviour' is seen most strongly.

Yes autistic children do behave different,y in different environments.

DS would mostly present a calm front at school (but not always). He would hold it all together until he saw me at the end of the day....I am his place of safety. The moment he saw me on what we're bad days for him he used to just erupt rage and scream. This meant that the school saw the impact their environment had upon him. Other days he would leave looking gray and shut down.

In a supermarket he completely zones out and paces up and down often muttering to himself....at nearly 14 he stands out as "not quite right" to other shoppers.

At home he is often relaxed and calm but can still blow up after a bad day.

I finally got him moved to a special school last September and it has been an amazing placement for him. There are only 8 pupils per class and all subjects are taught with a focus on communication...both verbal and non verbal. He has weekly occupational therapy there and regular speech and language support. This has made life so much easier at home.

People are very quick to judge and suspect fraufdulant these days. One of the parents in my local support group has a child with severe feeding issues. He is currently fed via a gastrostomy tube and is undergoing assessments for autism and other problems.
This has not stopped nasty gossip among people who know here outside the group about how she is doing all the investigations for benefit cash.

Would love to be a fly in the wall when they discover that he has recently been diagnosed with a rare but very real syndrome.

in actual fact the child I met at work didn't sound to me like his behaviour was typically ASD

There isnt a typical ASD.

If you met my DD in that situation she would be giggling and making eye contact.

It would be so nice if you didn't describe ASD as a "current societally acceptable label" gas man.

I wish all professionals were trained in additional needs.

Saw a consultant yesterday who although fantastic at her specialism had no clue about ASD or DDs needs.

As someone working with children people should really educate themselves somewhat.

We haven't actually found anyone who shows any understanding and DD sees a lot of specialties.