New view on mental health

[Finallylostit]

Read this today. This Doctor is refreshingly honest and a thought provoking perspective on the explosion in the mental health industry

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14576559/REAL-cause-explosion-autism-depression-psychiatrist-DR-ALISTAIR-SANTHOUSE.html

i was talking about the diagnosis.
maybe red properly before jumping down peoples' throats

I don't understand the question. My child does not have autistic diagnosis but some of her presentations do fall within ND presentations but they are in the past now. I am posting here as everyone else, sharing my experience as individual. I have her autism friends parents who do what I do - combined effort, read online and see the professionals as per need, etc. Is there anything more I can help with....or do people just want certain types of opinions but my experience does not sit well in your worldview therefore you are saying what. Precision of terms please

Aren’t you supposed to be discussing your child’s issue with professionals as opposed to forums.

For the one millionth time the autism spectrum is NOT a gradient / linear thing. It does NOT go from mild to severe.
It is more like the colour spectrum with different elements/symptons. The degree to which those with autism experience those symptoms can vary. Someone can experience one element much more than another element. This is where the ‘spiky’ profile term comes from.
Some may experience all symptoms/difficulties to a high degree all of the time. They are generally the people with very high care needs.
Some will experience high degree of a few symptoms all of the time and a mid-low or fluctuating degree of other symptoms. Their care needs may vary from very high to high to moderate depending on what the symptoms are.
Some will experience moderate degree in most with fluctuations to high or lower depending on what it is. Their care needs may vary.
Some will experience moderate to low degree in most and high in one area. Their care needs are lower.
Some will experience fluctuations of low to moderate degree in most areas with occasional fluctuations towards higher. Their support needs are fairly low.
The support needs of autistic people vary, but they all still have autism.
I have low support needs most of the time in terms of actual care. I do need support for quite a few things but I rely on my parents for that generally and I am fortunate that I can pay for support to manage household chores.
I have also been able to develop a lot of strategies, routines and coping mechanisms that help me manage. If all of that was to fail my support needs would likely increase.
Obviously, when you compare me to someone with very high support needs it would be clear they experience more symptoms to a greater severity than I do. That’s obvious!
But, I am still autistic and do not deserve to be spoken about in the disparaging way that some people do.
If you are desperate to use mild and severe terminology to imply some are ‘faking’ or to determine who is more ‘worthy’ of support it would be more accurate to say autism is a spectrum made up of a series of individual linear scales of symptoms within it.

Again go back and read. The person replied back and said that autism, like Down syndrome has a range in terms of impact. And is black and white in that you have it. Or you do not. You are being deliberately obtuse at this point.

The nursery worker listen so many massive labels etc and was so nasty ( I even do not understand why - one of the things in England some try to make you feel horrible just because your child has come up with delays or presentations of things health wise????). Then the health visitor and later school SENCO, ed phychologist etc said: well, we resolved it with just one page of advice, so therefore we are standing with the mother who is against overdiagnosing.

For whoever claiming there is not over-diagnosing, sorry, yes, there is. Nursery managers especially love to play little gods and tear the life and joy out of you

listed. She listed not concerns, but she tried to come up with labels. Like hello, who are you , you are not even medically trained to be a care assistant.

I am currently experiencing presentations that are consistent pregnancy. Bloated. Moody. Nausea. Sore breasts. I am not pregnant. Just experiencing some of the symptoms that can be associated with pregnancy. The fact that you’re child, who is not autistic, experiences some things that some autistic children / adults experience is completely irrelevant and nothing to do with this thread. Any more than my presentation of pregnancy has any place in discussions around pregnancy.

You seem to be suggesting that there is no such thing as autism because your child isn’t diagnosed? Or questioning the validity / point of diagnosis? From the perspective of a person with no actual direct experience beyond having a child who is not…?

Down syndrome is black and white because you either have an extra copy of the chromosome, or you don’t. Which 1 factor determines whether a person is autistic or not?

I’ve seen this happened to friends myself and completely believe you!

Nursery managers cannot diagnose.

You’re now moving the goal posts.

Where have you looked? Do you have access to science journals? I do. There is an enormous amount of scientific research going on into neurodiversity. If you're interested, and I suspect you really aren't, ADHD UK will have some useful links.

That’s research. Not definitive conclusions.

i don't get you.
Am i responsible for another person's reply?
You jumpoed on me for no reason except to be offended and now you've realised I actually said nothig wrong and you're talking nonsense about other posters.
I'mnot replying to you again

no, that's what I was saying too

You asked what you had done that caused offence. I answered. Now you’re attacking me for answering.

Apologies someone else decided to get involved and speak for you and I got lost.

Erm… there’s a great big section at the end of every piece of research labelled ‘Conclusion’… these, as a body of research when results are replicated, inform practice and approaches to diagnosis, assessment, treatment and support strategies.

So, yeah, research is really significant and there is tonnes and tonnes of it (some of it linked further up the thread, including the summary article in the New Scientist on p1/2).

IMO, of course Autism exists. There is no argument there.

My wondering would be, what other conditions could present as autism but actually aren’t? I won’t pretend to know too much of what I am talking about, but if you read the diagnostic criteria for ASD (as with conditions like ADHD) there are other circumstances that could cause a great many of the ‘symptoms’ listed there. Trauma, anxiety, and yes, in some cases, bad parenting.

If I am sneezing and have a runny nose, do I have allergies? Hayfever? A cold? All can cross over and appear similar but are not the same. And treatment is different for each.

you are fighting with the wrong person. NOWHERE IN ALL MY POSTS IN AM SUGGESTING WHAT YOU ARE IMPLYING AT ME. now leave my username

You’re on a post about ASD making multiple comments about your daughter who is not ASD with references to labelling. What is your point?

in here. Read all my posts - written in the clearest of English. There is not a statement I am stating autism does not exist in the UK. However people who want their kids labelled as such and some lousy hot air heads without correct training and lazy to dedicate proper time and attention to you and are in the their desk job for the pay package, - yes, this does exist

This!

People can understand all that and still say (accurately) that some people are affected more severely than others though. That their autism impacts their life to a greater degree than it does others.

The problem is if you do say that, some people tend to jump down your throat pretty quickly, in a way they wouldn’t if you said someone has mild vs severe asthma, for example.

I do know a lot goes on behind closed doors and I also hate the way some assume that someone who is verbal with no learning difficulties has ‘mild’ autism. Some people fitting this description are disabled to an extent they will never live independently.

I mean the word ‘mild’ just isn’t great here. I think that’s the issue. Because everyone diagnosed has significant issues so it’s a provocative word to use.
That said, ‘mild’ is usually considered good when used to describe other conditions 🤔