AIBU to worry about the surge in school-suggested ASD diagnoses?

[cremebrulait]

Fellow mums, I'm worried about a trend I've noticed in our schools. It seems some are pushing parents to seek ASD diagnoses to secure funding for support. While I absolutely believe children with autism deserve all the help they can get, I'm concerned about the following:

1. The high rate of suggested ASD diagnoses in some classes (much higher than average)
2. Schools advising parents to get diagnoses to continue enrollment
3. Long NHS waiting times leading to private evaluations

I worry this might lead to:

• Misallocation of resources
• Inappropriate interventions for children
• Overlooking other potential issues
• Psychological impact on misdiagnosed children

Shouldn't there be equality in support for children with other learning or developmental issues too? Like ADHD, emotional and behavioural disorders, sensory impairments, physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, health conditions, sensory processing disorder, specific learning differences, or twice-exceptional children?

AIBU to think this system is flawed? Has anyone else experienced this? Am I overreacting, or is this a genuine concern? What are your thoughts on how we can ensure all children get the right support without resorting to potentially inaccurate diagnoses?

(I'll post more thoughts on misdiagnosis in comments.)

I’m truly concerned by the potential negative consequences of pursuing an ASD diagnosis when it may not be accurate, versus identifying the real underlying needs.
It’s proven that kids with anxiety and trauma that get ABA therapy by a team used to working with autistic children - can be harmed more than helped.

Children with anxiety and trauma often get misdiagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder and therefore keep getting disciplined incorrectly exacerbating the problems.

ADHD is overdiagnosed in the youngest children in a class who are simply not at the same level as the oldest children. (Did you know there are private schools that divide the year into 3 groups so that children are only a few months apart?

A misdiagnosis could lead to inappropriate educational strategies, potentially holding a child back or pushing them in the wrong direction. I have a relative who was given a label of autism which shaped other people’s perspective of them. They never got appropriate support because once that diagnosis was given nobody considered the other possibilities. If someone has taken the time to properly evaluate them they could have performed much better in school and succeeded more in life! Some family members had “What’s wrong with Autism?” view - implying that not accepting an autism diagnosis itself was problematic.

Limited resources for ASD support might be stretched thin, or professionals inaccurately estimating the need for professionals trained to support autistic children and not recruiting or providing training for the right supports.

I hear a lot of people in England say that ASD children will not be treated differently in school But we live in a global society. I know that not all countries are like this.

An inaccurate diagnosis on medical records could impact future opportunities or assessments. A friend had a child that suddenly started having muscle spasms and twitching. The child had an ASD diagnosis to get school support - but the evaluator said it was a stretch. A paediatric neurologist in minutes - after only going through the medical history and doing basic tapping on the knees exams - provided a leaflet to the mum stating that autistic children commonly have ticks!! Down the road it was identified that medication ALONE was responsible for the issue and eventually the child was given a different diagnosis! Not autism.

I keep hearing about 1 to 1 support - but the children they support don’t need 1 to 1 help all the time! Isn’t that a wasted resource other parents could benefit from?

Same vibes

An autism diagnosis doesn’t bring any extra funding. That only happens if needs are sufficient to get an echp

Oh goody just what these boards need - another ASD-bashing thread

You assert:
Children with anxiety and trauma often get misdiagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder and therefore keep getting disciplined incorrectly exacerbating the problems.

ADHD is overdiagnosed in the youngest children in a class who are simply not at the same level as the oldest children.

What proof do you have to back up your claims about misdiagnoses?

I think you're scaremongering.

Where are you getting your information? What evidence do you have and have you been through the diagnosis procedure?

And schools use strategies that help symptoms not a diagnosis.

Yes that was all utter rubbish.

You are totally wrong OP. It’s the parents pushing the schools for the diagnosis.
I would say parents know their kids well and are better informed nowadays. Things are diagnosed now that wouldn’t have been in the past. ASD isn’t something you would wish on your child, these parents are concerned for good reason.

We know what you are up to OP.

And a teacher bashing one too.
MN bingo!

🥱

There's no funding or treatment with an ASD diagnosis so I wouldn't worry about that!

I haven't experienced this. My 18 year old got DLA and now gets PIP but didn't get any funding at school, he wasn't even on the SEND register. I have 5 dc with SEN but the schools haven't pushed anything. They did suggest that DC3 might have autism as well when we raised concerns that he might have ADHD though. There is no extra funding for schools that come with a diagnosis though. My 10 year old was on the pathway aged 3, diagnosed with ASD aged 6 and only now is being assessed for an ehcp.

Oh brilliant - so my son is going to get extra funding for the diagnosis he got a few years ago is he? The one that has resulted so far in… a report and some flyers being sent to me.

By the way he was seen on multiple occasions by several professionals in different specialisms and in different settings to get his diagnosis, the whole process took around three years

I'll bite. No one goes down the path for an ASD diagnosis for shits and giggles. It's not easy or done because a kid is a bit weird. 6 years for DS2 and we are still waiting for the diagnosis to be finished so he can get some proper support. And no, I didn't jump on a trendy bandwagon, I could show you several generations of my family that have SEN, many of which were put in institutions, hence why you are seeing "lots" now, families hid kids like mine years ago or they went to special schools (now mostly closed).

What?

I've suggested that parents pursue ADHD or ASD diagnoses if I feel it's needed and helpful.

It's a lot of paper work for me to do and they wouldn't get assessed for at least 2 years so no extra funding will be seen for ages or if ever!

I don't really understand your point.

Where are you getting all your information from?????

Do you know for a childrens ASD assessment on the NHs the waiting list is YEARS?

schools dont get extra funding for most ASD children 🤦‍♀️

Did you know there are private schools that divide the year into 3 groups so that children are only a few months apart?

My childrens school is a public school and has inbetween classes for those close in age 🤦‍♀️

Who do you know whose been misdiagnosed?

Before they even think about going for an ASD diagnosis parents have to go through all sorts, they do trauma counselling for the child ect way before the asd waiting list,

It's more common for a childs behaviour to be blamed on trauma and asd ignored.

My DD is 9 and has only just been accepted onto the ASD waiting list. This was after 4 years of seeking support for her 🤦‍♀️

Your spouting proper rubbish get off mumsnet

I'm a primary school SENCo and do not agree with your post. In my experience it is usually parents who, sometimes quite forcefully, push for assessment. I always reiterate that school strive to meet presenting needa with or without a diagnosis.

It’s really not that easy to get an ASD diagnosis. There’s so much criteria to be met. It’s not like kids are diagnosed on a whim.

You make it sound like you just ring up your GP and say ‘hey, can my child have an ASD diagnosis; having a few issues at school this week’
My son has a diagnosis of ASD (21 month wait to see CAMHS) and ADHD (9 month wait on the right to choose pathway as it was another 2 year wait with CAMHS) and has just been issued with an EHCP (initially refused by LA, went to mediation, thankfully have agreed to issue now). Pretty much spent the last three years trying to get the right diagnosis and support in place, but yeh, it’s just a surge.
What I would say (and I say this as a teacher and parent) it that the curriculum reforms under Gove, with the massive emphasis on academic knowledge acquisition, retention and regurgitation is hugely inappropriate for ND children, and in my view, is a massive driver in the increase of children who are being identified as SEND. Sorry, and edited to say, my son’s school have been superb at supporting him within a system that’s really not working.

I'm a primary school teacher and a parent of a child diagnosed with autism. OP is talking absolute nonsense. We have extremely limited resources in schools for supporting any sort of SEND. Mostly it is a teacher alone on a classroom trying to make adaptions and accommodations. It's extremely difficult to get an EHCP (I have been involved in both school and parental applications). Even when successful, most EHCPs do not come with all the funding needed to properly meet a child's needs.

It seems some are pushing parents to seek ASD diagnoses to secure funding for support.

Ok, @cremebrulait enlighten all of us who support children with additional needs.

What funding do you believe having an ASD diagnosis will secure for a pupil?

🙄

It took 4 YEARS for my DD to be diagnosed because they needed 'evidence '. Obviously Covid and backlog didn't help. But there was no way it was being done easily.
(FYI- we were the ones who knew DD has autism so that's why we wanted a diagnosis )