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.)

@cremebrulait your child is disruptive and potentially physically reactive in school.

Would you rather:

• teacher raises concerns and discusses this with you. You have the opportunity to disagree and develop potential strategies together.

• teacher plans around your child and minimises disruptions. This either plays out as your child causes disruption then is removed OR teacher plans around your child and essentially excludes them from learning.

?

Errr I think quite rightly this thread has broadly criticised what you have said. There are not many at all who claim to have a similar experience. 🤔

"many people including a paediatric professional"

You mean someone who anonymously claims to be a paediatric professional?

Interesting that you place more trust and validity in a random anonymous internet user than a registered medical professional.

Also the reason you were accused of spouting bullshit because you were as educational professionals have explained.

@cremebrulait you do understand that ASD, ADHD, TOURETTES and hypermobility are known to be a group of conditions that can be co-morbid ie you can be diagnosed with 1 or more of them at the same time, in exactly the same way as asima, hayfever and exema. Infact if you have 1 your more likely to have the others than the general population.
You are getting such strong push back on your comments not because we're snowflakes who can't talk about sen issues but because your spouting dangerous rubbish

“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?”

Clearly the OP has no idea about how the UK educational system works.

An ASD diagnosis due not qualify you for an EHCP

Only with medical and expert reports eg Ed Psych indicating issues accessing the curriculum can you get an EHCP and indeed you might have no diagnosis of ASD but something else eg ND disorder.

If an EHCP states access to 1:1 - that 1:1 can and will be shared amongst the class.

if the EHCP states dedicated 1:1 for above a certain number of hours - the school has exceeded the first £6000 notional spend for SEN and has no funding. They have to apply for high needs/ low incident funding and the criteria is quite fierce. They have to go to panel with significant documentary and medical evidence.

There is a natural fight between school and parents because even with High needs funding it does not cover the actually cost of a HLTA at about £25,000 per year.

Schools don’t like to flag getting EHCP or getting diagnoses unless really needed as invariably they are thousands out of pocket.

For the vast majority of children with SEN in mainstream schools, their needs
can be met within the resources provided routinely through the annual budget
share process. The Core School Budget Share for mainstream schools (Local
Authority Maintained and Academies) is expected to meet the cost of
delivering a curriculum that is appropriately organised to meet the needs of all
children on roll along with meeting up to the first £6,000 of additional support
costs for pupils with high needs.
1.2 When the cost of additional support for any individual pupil exceeds £6,000
additional top-up funding is made available by the Local Authority to put
appropriate provision in place. This is called top-up funding and is funded from
the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant. Allocations for
individual children are not limited to children with an Education Health & Care
Plan. Local authorities have the flexibility to provide high needs funding
outside the statutory assessment process for all children and young people
with high needs up to the age of 19.
1.3 The High Needs block can also be used by Local Authorities to provide
additional funding to schools to help towards the costs of the first £6,000
where schools are defined as having a “high incidence of SEN” (the definition
is at the discretion of the Local Authority). This is expected to be provided on
an exceptional basis.
1.4 Local Authorities can also use the HNB to fund other specialist services &
support to provide additional or targeted support for children and young
people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as permitted
under schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance Regulations.
1.5 In Kent, top-up funding is currently allocated through a claim process.

So for most pupils and most schools any diagnosis that requires support comes out of the existing budget and therefore there is more incentive for schools to underplay the issue unless they can make a case for high needs funding.

You keep making wild assumptions.

Why is it a wild assumption that someone on this thread claimed they were a paediatric professional?

If you mean me, I have proved my credentials and have a long running autism AMA which is now in classics.

Yes, wild to consider the chance that someone claiming to be a 'paediatric professional' on an anonymous forum may not be all they claim.

Completely sensible to assume that most teachers are making up things about the children they teach which they gladly attach their names and reputation to.

Edited for typo.

True but Autism Prof knows too much
@AutismProf
I meant to ask so I may as well - DC was first referred to our LA autism service in 2021 but it was rejected due to "covid backlog". They were referred again last year following OT and Ed Psych reports. It's been over a year already but I know it's a two-year wait here.
Is there any point ringing to see how far they are away from their ADOS or will it make zero difference and I should just sit tight? You have to do them in the order they were submitted or am I hopelessly naive?

I am an "autism expert". Ask me anything. | Mumsnet

I think the op is getting confused .Pretty sure Autismprof or a professional on here didn’t agree with her and asked her to accept that they do know how to do their job.

Alcohol consumption in pregnancy is a key question asked in a decent autism assessment. As is early exposure to DV, separated attachments etc

This is the comment AP made. I presume because they have to differentiate autistic responses from ACE (traumatic) responses and the aforementioned FASD.

*I'm not keen on the line of questioning regarding attachments only because of the now hopefully rejected/debunked Refrigerator Mother theory. Nonetheless, they have to ask.
It's the same reason I always raise an eyebrow at Parenting Classes hoops I've heard others jump through. It always smacks of parent-blaming, nurture vs nature. It's also why many on here, myself included, take umbrage at the idea of overdiagnosis, overblown numbers applying and the OP.

Mine is on the autism pathway but I've been at this now for five years so to be informed that other schools are submitting willy-nilly - not in my LA, each primary is limited to two applications.

You can ask, of course, they might be able to give you an idea of the wait from her current position. Unfortunately most areas have had a huge increase in referrals post COVID and most pathways are struggling to cope. In my area children are seen in referral order except for urgents which are prioritised. These are mostly children where there is serious concern for YP's welfare, for example self harm or seriously risky behaviours such as a 13 year old going off with strange men.

The relationship between trauma and autism is getting better understood both in terms of the micro traumas of living in environments which do not meet your needs or take account of your sensory experiences, and the increased risk of victimisation.

Will you include a copy please? Would like to see. Very disturbing.

Very concerning indeed. Although the guidance I have seen suggests some subsequent back pedalling on this “The NHS is clear that people should not have a DNACPR on their record just because they have a learning disability, autism or both. This is unacceptable.”

www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/documents/c1146-do-not-attempt-cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-dnacpr-and-people-with-a-learning-disability-and-or-autism/

Coronavirus: U-turn on critical care advice for NHS amid fears disabled people will be denied treatment
‘Many autistic and learning disabled people and their families have believed that they are treated as less than human, and it certainly felt as if the guidance was confirming just that’
Shaun Lintern
Health Correspondent
Wednesday 25 March 2020 14:48 GMT

From the Independent - for you to look up.
All the major papers ran the story and certainly my son was prioritised as his combination of complex needs, ASD and asthma etc did not fancy his chances.

The point is that anything things that getting an ASD diagnosis is a fanciful thing- it’s not. The general life expectancy and employment of people with ASD is shocking.

So are you going to post the "determination to refuse life saving treatment for people with SEN eg ASD and/ or learning disabilities" then?

It was heavily publicised in all mainstream papers eg independent and guardian etc. I have cut and pasted extracts from these newspapers.

At the time and I did look at the NIcE guidelines and was horrified. I rang the GP expecting to be reassured and instead was apologise to and reassured that my DS would be vaccinated as soon as possible.

It was heavily publicised in all mainstream papers eg independent and guardian etc. I have cut and pasted extracts from these newspapers.

At the time and I did look at the NIcE guidelines and was horrified. I rang the GP expecting to be reassured and instead was apologise to and reassured that my DS would be vaccinated as soon as possible.

So lots of chatter about alleged notices, but no evidence of its actual existence?