To be confused by SEN, Autism, etc in children?

[Sallygoround631]

A sensitive topic, but I am curious, and hope that it isn't somehow improper to ask.
I admit to ignorance, because I don't have children, and I have not had much experience with children with SEN, Autism, allergies, etc.

What I want to know is, in your opinion, are there more kids with these issues now than, say, 40 years ago, when was a kid in the 80's? (when everything was put down to orange smarties and over activeness)

Was it simply less diagnosed or unknown, and put down to other, behavioural issues?
If so, then I am very glad we are no longer living with such ignorance.
But I am also curious to know if these cases have increased, or merely been there all along?

If they have increased, what are the reasons? Does anyone know?

I feel this is a tender topic and do not wish to cause upset. I am absolutely out of the loop and would love to hear about it.

Educate me!

Why are you asking?
Why does it matter?

Under diagnosed. Still very much the case.

This thread pops up about once a month. Search is your friend. Or the google.

Apologies I am not sure how to phrase such a nuanced question to google.
I see a lot of posts on MN regarding these issues and am genuinely interested.
I mean no disrespect and would like to learn.

Also, would someone maybe tell me why such a question could be deemed offensive?

When I was at school in the 80s there were kids who were "naughty" . I see these kids in my sins school now and there's more of an effort to understand why and heats going on and how to fix it beyond punishment.

I was a kid at school in the 80s.
Terminally bullied. Quiet, shy, awkward.

Diagnosed autistic aged 38 nearly 5 years ago now.

I would say it was very much under diagnosed. Children with severe autism or other special needs were locked away in special homes/hospitals for life (there’s one in Glasgow which had a graveyard next to it ) or the not so severe we’re the ones who had the dunces hats on, the town weirdos etc.

I’m a SEN teacher and have studied the history of autism and it’s very sad I think people have always been autistic it’s just never been openly diagnosed.

It may well be the same rate. Thinking back I can identify a kid labelled as naughty but had definite triggers which other kids used to do to get a meltdown. And through different jobs I have met adults I suspect are but would have been seen as quirky/intelligent but wouldn't have been diagnosed. I don't think we will know for a long time if we are gradually getting better at picking up on it or whether rates are increasing.

@SleepingStandingUp

When I was at school in the 80s there were kids who were "naughty" . I see these kids in my sins school now and there's more of an effort to understand why and heats going on and how to fix it beyond punishment.

So the further we go back in time, the worse the kids would have been treated. I dread to think how this would have worked out in a victorian school.

I recall seeing a 'way we used to live' episode, wonderfully and sensitively done. concerning a young boy who could not engage in class and had difficulties articulating and caring for himself. He was regularly beaten and cast aside by the staff. This may have been fictional, but it was taken from real issues of the time.

Under diagnosed.
Closure of institutions- in the past people were locked away
Not so long ago there was a tendency to blame parents “refrigerator mother” or wierd quasi-religious viewpoint.
Current push (finally!) to acceptance of others.
Mainstream education and general better inclusion (sports, hobbies, retail, transport, etc) make neurodiversity more visible.

ADHD and other conditions under the same umbrella were even more under diagnosed decades ago than they are now. More serious (obvious and noticeable) SEN have always been around, but in decades gone by those people were kept hidden away in hospitals and care homes, whereas now they’re in the community far more often as they should be.

@sweetkitty

I would say it was very much under diagnosed. Children with severe autism or other special needs were locked away in special homes/hospitals for life (there’s one in Glasgow which had a graveyard next to it ) or the not so severe we’re the ones who had the dunces hats on, the town weirdos etc.

I’m a SEN teacher and have studied the history of autism and it’s very sad I think people have always been autistic it’s just never been openly diagnosed.

Thanks for this, I had suspected as much.

Have a watch of the “silent minority” film on you tube.

We diagnose more now because we understand more.

What’s your skin in the game?

A large proportion of people with SEN dc will bristle at the question because they or their siblings were that undiagnosed kid that was bullied and constantly in trouble and just not getting along with life.

But in the bad old days, more adults with ASN would have employment, part if a community, etc. Post-school, for SOME it was better, for most it was worse.

Underdiagnosed, a boy in my primary in the 80s so obviously had adhd with hindsight, he was the 'naughty' boy, always being told off, left to struggle academically. I often wonder what became of him.

I have a DD with ASD diagnosis and the following are my theories on why diagnosis is increasing

Previously under diagnosed so kids written off as naughty/anti-social/loner/stupid

More special schools so you would be less aware of kids with differences

Older parents now and like minded individuals with possible traits more likely to meet and marry.

More stressful triggering environment with noise and distraction. Less quiet time and running around outside and being left alone without demands.

School is more demanding now with more pressure from a young age.

Once my daughter was diagnosed I could see traits in several family members dismissed as trouble makers or depressed loners. I feel very sad for them and wonder how their lives would have turned out with the opportunity to know themselves and get some support.

Well in Victorian times a kid with severe autism for example wouldn't have made it to school, they'd have been kept out of sight at home or sent away and locked up.

Kids with things like ADHD probably would have been continually beaten until they either ended up thoroughly damaged and criminals or thoroughly damaged and compliant.

there are big research studies (e.g. tracking 10,000s of kids in sweden over decades) which show that diagnosis are going up, but the rate of autistic traits is not. So 30 or 40 years ago, there were more kids who had autism but it was not recognised or diagnosed.

Also, there were more kids who were diagnosed with general learning difficulties (who got very little education) but who would now get an autism diagnosis. rates of general learning difficulties have gone down as rates of autism have gone up.

My son is exactly like the ‘naughty’ kids at my school who couldn’t stop disrupting lessons by calling out, who always were in trouble for not doing homework but it top sets for everything. Saying stuff that’s true but sounds rude and not understanding why they get in trouble. Always being told they’re lazy and wasting themselves.

He had HFA and finds life very tricky sometimes. He’s one of many in his school where there are lower than the national average of children with SEN.

I can think of three or four children in my class alone at his age who would’ve had a diagnosis. Without any ‘intellectual impairment’ any kind of diagnosis was very difficult when I was at school.

@RaineyMae

What’s your skin in the game?

A large proportion of people with SEN dc will bristle at the question because they or their siblings were that undiagnosed kid that was bullied and constantly in trouble and just not getting along with life.

what an odd question. not everyone is unkind. some people wish to learn and hostility will not help them. this certainly isn't an alien topic for me, and I am familiar with many adults with autism, but not children. is it so odd to ask about the past when I simply don't know?

Previously, many children were undiagnosed. The "naughty" ones just didn't go to school and eventually vanished into Borstal. These days they might be diagnosed with ADHD, which is a real and treatable disorder. The "slow" ones orthe "looney" ones went off to special / residential schools, of which there were many. These days, they can often be supported in mainstream, and parents of kids with learning difficulties or even quite severe disabilities aren't expected to hide their children away like a dirty secret.

Also, more children survive very premature or horribly traumatic births or childhood illness that would have killed them 30 years ago. They survive, but often with physical and intellectual injuries.

In a lot of ways its better. We are more understanding and accepting, and some of us still have our kids, who would have died if they'd been born 40 years ago. Its probably harder to get a lot of help now though.

Nah we just invented it in the 90s innit