To think if ASD is costing the UK 32bn per year we need to better early screening?

[Pelot]

Autism costs the UK 32bn a year. That's more than cancer, heart disease and stroke combined.

Yet we don't routinely screen all children and get them the services they need early enough. Often the system waits until a child is so unable to cope that they become disruptive in school that a referral is made. Often families don't realise (because no one tells them) that their child is displaying multiple red flags and that they will likely have higher care needs. Those families go on to have multiple affected children because they had no idea what the care needs of the first would be. Surely getting intervention and support sooner would be more cost effective and allow families a chance to be more fully informed when making decisions about subsequent children?

how exactly is it costing that much? Once you get a diagnosis they abandon you.

How is ASD costing that much? What does that breakdown as?

I don't think there is much in the way of services or support for people with a diagnosis anyway tbh.

Seems to be from this ten year old report
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-27742716

I'd take those figures with a pinch of salt. I work with Autistic people and the majority that need care and support have other conditions that are the leading factor in them needing support, some physical disabilities many epilepsy and learning disabilities and a lot of mental health conditions.
What needs to happen to reduce support is better understanding and acceptance of disabilities and accommodations being made in school and work. I think a lot of those with mental health conditions alongside ASD have experienced autistic burnout from trying to fit in to a system that doesn't meet their needs and judges their autistic traits. You just need to browse a few threads on here to see the lack of understanding and how people are labeled rude, lazy, strange for displaying autistic traits.

It "costs" that much because that study includes lost parental productivity and lost opportunity costs. Obviously, those are very real for families with autistic children, but considering that strokes, heart disease, and cancer usually affect older people, for a relatively short amount of time, you're not comparing like with like.

You can't reliably screen for autism before 18 months. Lots of parents have made decisions to have other children before then. Many parents who suspect or know their child is autistic have another child regardless (I did).

I absolutely agree that there needs to be better support and faster diagnosis. But framing all that in economic terms has a gross whiff of eugenics about it.

I am genuinely shocked at how in just a few short years, the amount of people diagnosed with autism has absolutely skyrocketed. I can believe it costs that much, as even the 1-1 support at schools must be astronomical, and that's just for those being supported in mainstream schools.

Of course it's skyrocketed. Parents with autism who have children, are more likely to have kids who also have autism. How is this surprising?

I think it is surprising tbh. My eldest was diagnosed about 13 years ago when he was 6. I didn't know a single family with an autistic child at that point. It is so prevalent now, and I don't doubt the validity of any of those diagnoses.

Very few students with ASD have 1:1 support in mainstream, most have no support beyond a couple of hours intervention and a safe space to go when they are overwhelmed. The support provided (and needed) is highly variable. Neither of my sons with ASD needs any bespoke support to access education, but they do need exam concessions (extra time) and pastoral support when social interactions with peers gets tricky.

I’d like to see some more funds being directed towards finding the cause of it.

I didn’t wish my child to have it, it put severe restrictions on family life and opportunities.

I love my child to bits but if I could I would take it away from him in a heartbeat.

@BusMumsHoliday I think we could do better with public health awareness campaigns. Not many people seem to know that spacing babies less than 2 years apart significantly increases the risk of ASD.

Lots being diagnosed now is because of the raised awareness and education on how it presents in different sex’s and adults. Autistic people can be highly productive with the right jobs and support. I was diagnosed in adulthood, never had or would have had a 1-1 and am in a job with a £70k salary.

There is a growing openness now within childrens professionals that there isnt enough focus on attachment and trauma impacting on ASD like symptoms which then lead to a diagnosis. Also that the new way of describing ND as all one thing, when the reality is that there are children/adults with autism who are non verbal and non mobile and will never live independently, and the same diagnosis is used to apply to someone with a job in accountancy who functions well in the world.

It goes down like a bucket of sick for some reason on this forum but the reality is there is growing concern about that.

That isn't cost to the NHS though. And i'm using NHs as they're comparing it to other health problems like Stroke, Cancer...etc.

Please provide a source for your claim
about increased ASD with less than 2 years between pregnancies.

“someone with a job in accountancy who functions well in the world.“ wouldn’t get an autism diagnosis.Traits need to significantly impact life.

schools are more pressurised and less accommodating to children with autism these days. As we already know, the more pressure, the more anxiety and likelihood of autistic burnout. The school curriculum also seems less balanced. Gone are the wide practical elements of some subjects like science, while arts and crafts have been minimised on the timetable.

You can work, appear to "function well in the world" and get a diagnosis.

No there isn't growing concern just a few MNers who have an issue with verbal autistic people.

No you can’t, it needs to significantly impact life. Working does not mean you function well in the world.

Fetal MRI to detect autism will change things if anx when it’s brought in on a wide scale

Thats interesting because my sibling received a diagnosis as an adult.

How odd, because my DH who has a well-paid job and certainly functions in the world definitely has a diagnosis.

And to get that diagnosis your sibling would have needed to show that his/her autism significantly impacted life.

I dont know if the paediatricians/consultants/teachers/parents/social workers and other childrens workers who talk about it are on this forum

There is growing concern about it. It will change in years to come I can tell you that. Other countries also dont have a blanket diagnosis to describe all people with ND