social media is convincing all our kids they are nd?

[AuntMarch]

I've just been sat on the bus and the tiktok videos I'm hearing almost have me seeking a diagnosis.
"ADHD TEST" Put a finger down if you've ever focused on something so much you've lost track of time/ sometimes think you talk too much or not enough.."
it's basically covered every possible behaviour and it's video after video.

it's no wonder every kid thinks they have something.

Absolutely. Such ignorance.

Can we also add in the announcement
that people dont just get DLA/PIP for having a diagnosis it goes off need?

We aren't allowed to suggest anyone just isn't very good at something any more, or that perhaps they just have to try harder at it. It has to be medicalised so that they can't possibly be expected to do anything to improve it themselves. The world must change around them, expect less of them, accomodate their every foible. No need to accept a bit of struggle/challenge/discomfort for the collective good.

It is individualism at its worst.

I have some autistic traits (masking, severe meltdowns when young teenager to the the point that I was taking into psychiatric care). It would have been good to have had a diagnosis at the time because they all thought it was something neurological/psychological and finally didn't have a diagnosis. I just got better at containing myself, masking and retreating when needing to be by myself. To get a diagnosis now at 45 has no sense. I kind of figured out how I have to live to manage.

And that’s you. I found it hugely helpful, as do many others. I don’t get to decry your choice, you don’t get to decry mine.

Also a few meltdowns does not autism or adhd make.

No. I was referring to people who have self diagnosed, not people with genuine diagnoses. People who have watched some bullshit TikTok video and decided they have ADHD.

Wow how lovely to be so abelist.

My DS1 is autistic so I do know what autism is. What I'm saying is why get a diagnosis if it's not in order to get help? For ADHD there is medication. Unfortunately there is none for autism.

Many of us self diagnose before. We have to because wait lists are so long. ND people often doesn’t have the courage to tell work about their conditions with a diagnosis let alone without.

There are support groups for anutism anmd ADHD and care can be adjusted with a diagnosis. You can also get reasonable adjustments in services and it’s hugely helpful for MH. There are many reasons why diagnosis is helpful. CAMhS pushed for my DD’s diagnosis for those very reasons.

YABU. It is actually thanks to social media that more people are seeking diagnosis and hence getting the support and medication they need.

Most people do not understand how disabling ADHD can be. Friend of mine who has ADHD for example has such bad time blindness that she had to arrive at work an hour early to ensure she is not late. She also really really struggles to use public transport because she has the tendency to to impulsively assume a particular bus is the right one and because she is also dyslexic she often misreads the destination on the front.

DC2 also has ADHD. In their case it comes with fairly severe language processing issues which means if they attend a lecture at uni, at the end they have absolutely no idea what was said. They have to watch recordings instead and pause them frequently.

I could go on and on.

We have to because wait lists are so long.

As someone who has ASD and ADHD diagnoses with 3 diagnosed autistic DC, one of whom has diagnosed ADHD too, I don’t understand this. You don’t have to. You choose to. You could equally say you are awaiting an assessment.

My dd had to do a test during an introduction period at work (nhs) She is mildly dyslexic, didn’t affect her massively at school. She just needs a bit more time to process stuff sometimes. So was given more time on tests etc. Did pretty well at school and college.
One of the managers (not directly in charge of her) said the way she did the task suggested she should be tested for adhd, she completed it very well but did it an odd order apparently.
She has absolutely no symptoms of ADHD, no difficulty following instructions, she’s very organised & manages her time well, doing well at work and in life general. Stays calm at work and deals with crisis well if necessary. Deals with life admin well etc.
She really pushed her to be tested, kept on saying you might as well. My dd said no thank you and as far as she was aware she didn’t think it was necessary. She had been doing the job as an apprentice previously and got top marks and feed back.
Why she kept asking I don’t know. This was about a year ago and since has flourished at work and has been given more responsibility and gets good feedback. But she seemed very keen to help her get a diagnosis and kept saying we can get it done quickly through occupational health.

I think diagnosis is important, but reasonable adjustments do not require a diagnosis.

Nope, for many of us identifying as we are is necessary and helpful. My dd was identified as ND before her diagnoses by nhs professionals.

You may think it is helpful, but you don’t have to. It is a choice you decide to make when you could just as easily say you think you are autistic/have ADHD or are awaiting an assessment.

I get those to my FYP. I most certainly lying have ADHD based on the videos. And majority of the things they take about are just human things that we all do.

This is the reason we need to teach media reading skills.

Oh I'm very grateful my son got his diagnosis. For me it wouldn't change anything and I prefer not to think about my youth because it's too painful and obviously I would have to do this if I'd want a diagnosis. I can't believe people actually want to be ND. As far as my son is concerned it has only come with suffering for him.

Support groups aren't always accessible though

I'll be 70 next week. I'm having an autism assessment on Monday!

An adult would surely be able to look back over life for issues at school, drunkenness as a teen, etcetcetc
So anyone just deciding at 40 that they have adhd without any previous probably hasn’t got it

I used to work for a private centre assessing ASD and ADHD. I don’t anymore because every second person who came in had been online, diagnosed themselves and the diagnostic criteria seemed to be somewhat extended by (some, not all) assessors and I think the self funded aspect played a key part. Nobody seemed to have an issue with this, but as a lifelong diagnosis, I wanted to be absolutely certain. I stick to therapeutic interventions these days with focus on the whole person, based on what they can do. Having worked in this area for a decade or so, I’m not convinced that the tiktok/identity politics around ASD is healthy longterm. I’ve also seen a decline in some when they receive a diagnosis, almost like its
confirmed what they’re unable to do, so they stop
trying altogether. Not always but in a significant percentage of cases.

Excellent. Another post scolding neurodivergent people for existing. Apparently there's too many of us now and That's Not OK.

What is particularly not OK is the female presentation of neurodivergence. If we don't display the typically male traits we're clearly not worthy of a diagnosis.

In the UK, you don't get a diagnosis easily, regardless of what TikTok tells you.

I can't even read this full thread - the first page or so was enough for me. It's honestly just enraging.

What rubbish. Nobody has said anything of the sort.

Complaining about posts on a thread you haven't even read is a bit silly isn't it.

I’ve come to the conclusion everyone is and I’m feeling more and more sorry for parents and people who have real problems and issues it must be heartbreaking for them and making it so much harder to navigate support.