Anyone else noticing the uptick in open hostility towards people with ASD?

[FFSakeDrinkSake]

As the title says. It feels like it's open season recently. In the last few weeks alone I've seen many threads questioning the validity of Asd, the credentials of those diagnosing the condition, the 'explosion' of diagnosis', the 'fact' that you qualify for extra benefits if you are autistic and/or have ADHD, the apparent drain on resources kids with ASD have on the educational sector depriving others and most recently the idea that someone (self diagnosed) can 'outgrow' autism. Most of which contain the worst misinformation about what we're trying to deal with on a daily basis and making it sound like we're just trying to .. i dont even know tbh.. scam our way through life?

Disclaimer NATAAT.

This is something that needs a society wide solution. Of course parents need to fight for their own child.
But we do need to understand why so many children are struggling and what we need to change to reduce this number.

I think the Ed Psychs that have a blanket rule about not diagnosing until secondary school are the main problem there.

Waves to the fellow EPs on here! 👋🏻

EPs don’t/can’t diagnose autism or ADHD. The only thing I do diagnose/identify is dyslexia.

There is no such blanket rule - for EPs or any other clinicians that I know of! Where has this information come from?!

I completely agree. There often is more schools could be doing.

@Perzival this is a fast moving and complex thread with many things now being discussed so perhaps I have missed something.

I read your post as if send parents can just choose any school they like which isn't the case. I don't disagree with anything you've said in response to my post. I've done that fight so I think maybe there's been a miscommunication somewhere and apologise if that's was on me.

There are people who think you just get any school you want due to 'parental preference' (as indicated a bit later in this thread) and it's annoying as we can't.

Yes - as part of an MDT (and with additional training) they can contribute to a diagnosis. But the previous posts were implying they can diagnose unilaterally but for some reason were refusing to do so until secondary school. None of this is true.

I understand that some needs are temporary. But saying a child has SEN simply because they take a bit longer to grasp one concept in teaching is a bit OTT. How many of us do training as adults and find part of the curriculum much harder than most of our classmates and need to do extra work on it?
What I am concerned about is DC who are self harming in class, running away, upending desks, and simply not coping in any meaningful way. That might be temporary, but it is clearly an SEN.

You have completely misunderstood. I did explain in a further post I'm a nurse so we look at disability in a holistic way. But where are you getting the idea I want my DD to be more disabled? She's disabled enough, thank you! I want her to be able to have an education. Her mainstream school think she should be in a SEN school and just don't bother, tbh.

Myths perpetuated by LAs or schools who don't want to pay for send support,

The reason is diagnosis and recognition. We still have the same number of ND people as ever.

In my day as a school boy at infant and primary school (late 80s), there was a group of boys, the naughty ones, who were treated as discipline problems of limited capability and being beyond help.

They had poor outcomes. We got older. They drifted into criminality, some went to prison.

I wonder what the difference would have been had the schools and teachers had the support and insight to realise, at 6/7 years old, that they were all ND.

Don't really care about handwringers and ND deniers crying that it costs too much.

We can't go back to that.

Why so many in nappies as well when starting school?

https://eric.org.uk/news/rise-in-children-starting-school-in-nappies/

What if, in reality, the human race is half neuro diverse and half not. That males present differently than women, that this is in fact normal, we’re only just finding out about it. Is it such a difficult concept to accept and understand?

There is no such blanket rule - for EPs or any other clinicians that I know of! Where has this information come from?!

Well you hope not. But I was replying to (and quoting- so you can see it) a "friend of" a SENDCO earlier in the thread who said their LA Ed Psychs didn't like to dx before secondary age but parents clamoured for support regardless and that the parents are somehow the problem.

I believe I did quote her "friend's" whole post of nonsense, if you want to read it all.

You know what be good if there's new send legislation (although I don't think the current legislation has much wrong with it in general, it's the enforceability of it that's the main issue in my view) allowing schools to appeal refusal to assess/issue (with parents permission of course). What happens to all those children who need support but parents can't manage this for some reason and the schools can't either? Of course schools would need even more funding then. Maybe a full time lawyer 😂

It's also annoying how many schools/sencos are oblivious to send law and don't challenge LAs where they could.

Myths perpetuated by LAs or schools who don't want to pay for send support,

I do wish more parents could be persuaded to start the EHCP process themselves instead of getting locked into this dances with the schools.

Absolutely this. I had an adhd diagnoses in my early fifties a couple of years back and I think that some people (including one of my bosses, who is more machine than human) think that because I’ve gone that long that it can’t really have ever been a problem. I’ve learned to mask it well and I am ostensibly high-functioning so on the surface it looks like I’m coping, but people who know me/have lived with me/been in relationships with me know how hard I struggle on a daily basis. As I keep on saying, if there had been a rise in diagnosis of a physical condition because of better medical knowledge they’d be calling it a ‘breakthrough’ but instead I think people see fit to view the situation with ADHD (especially women finally being diagnosed) as a ‘trend’. As if dealing with it wasn’t bad enough, you have to add people’s prejudices into the mix as well.

Yes, it's incredibly fast moving. No probs, it may well be me too. Its easy to misinterpret something written. I apologise if it is on me.

I have seen from your posts we are both sating similar things.

But teachers in special schools in MN have said that they are getting more non verbal children who are doubly incontinent. The increase in those children are not down to diagnosis.
And yes when I was young there were children who were not diagnosed and did not achieve their full educational potential. But they were not self harming in class, throwing chairs and stimming. Those children were in special schools.

The reason is diagnosis and recognition. We still have the same number of ND people as ever.

In my day as a school boy at infant and primary school (late 80s), there was a group of boys, the naughty ones, who were treated as discipline problems of limited capability and being beyond help.

👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻

Not to mention the girls masking.

Personally, I don't think privilege is hard to accept. But I guess we're all different.

But honestly, so many of our SEN DC are badly let down by schools. And not because 'inclusion is hard to get right.' I'm sure that is the case in some schools but it isn't in too many schools, tbh.

I often think this is the case. Although I don't believe there are female and male presentations.

THESE dances^

I think the idea of parents having any choice in schools as a whole is just an illusion. As you say you do get to put a preference but if that has any baring on the school your DC gets is a whole other matter.

So what do you suggest we do with the children who aren't coping, aren't getting an education and that no other option exists?
Most of us end up home educating but that's not what we pay taxes for. Why should my taxes pay for your child's education whiley child gets none

Autism etc have a lot of comorbidities that DC would have died from in the past.

I agree that we need to look at the increase in numbers. I took Stemetil for morning sickness for a couple of weeks when pregnant (it is also used to treat Schizophrenia, which is why I stopped). Use of antidepressants has increased a lot in recent years too and other medications.

However I also have autism in extended family on both sides, so I think in my case it's just genetics and two people with it in the family aving a child increasing the chance.