AIBU to just want to shout “ other disabilities exist “

[winterplease21]

it seems that everywhere at the moment including newspapers, forums , government are trying to cause debates surrounding the cost of disability to our country. This could be welfare costs, educations costs etc etc

every single one of theee debates turns in to only about those with ADHD and Autism.

the constant comments “ everyone wants a disabled child, they are all teaching eachother to get diagnosis’s “
I don’t have an opinion on this but don’t people realise that not all EHCP granted are for adhd / autism and as quoted the 1 in 10 secondary school children on disability benefits are not all autism and ADHD and there is a lot of other reasons why children may need extra funding at school and disability benefits.

every disability debate I’ve seen just turns on to those with her are nuerodivergent.
im not saying they they are not important but to those harping on how there is too many disabled people like sorry we can’t exactly reverse a brain injury, heart disease and organ failure 😩

But it doesn’t get the EHCP much more easily or quickly which is what you said. In my LA they tend to ignore private reports despite the law, so you need to go to tribunal. That’s exactly where most parents are headed without reports.

I didn’t take it as a personal attack. I could not care less of your opinion of me and my situation.

It is that people who say “I work with kids….” And then go on to claim they know better than their parents, are usually the biggest barrier to any parent getting any help at all, and the reality is, they are full of shit.

It can speed the process up

if you are awaiting a tribunal and have no iodate ed psych report the la will drag their heels in getting that assement done.
They can not refuse a private ed psych if done legally - they can try but they can’t.

It’s just unfortunate that as well as finding that one person who has acne along with a list of disabilities which actually entitle them to the car, they also will have found readers who are stupid enough to believe what they write.

I took the OP to mean that every single discussion about any disability or difference seems to focus solely on ND (slight exaggeration but more or less)

Any mention of invisible disabilities and its nearly always without fail referring to ND

To that extent I agree with OP

Other disabilities and needs exist.

But they have no impact on the tribunal date so your perceived class of the parent really doesn’t make it easier or quicker, which is what you said.

Yep .

Another reason middle class parents may have an easier time of getting EHCP is because not all but they are more likely to be more educated and it’s a difficult system to understand. Understanding the process and the law is very helpful.

This isn't true, people say horrific things about children (and adults) with all of these disabilities, I have heard multiple people say that a profoundly disabled child in my family shouldn't have been kept alive because it is too expensive, and we should have 'let nature take its course'. They often then come out with something about how it would be kinder anyway, because their life couldn't really be worth living with such a severe disability (The child in question is one of the happiest people I know!) I have also seen plenty of people online saying similar thing about others with profound disabilities/brain injuries/learning disabilities etc. People with all kinds of disabilities face appalling bigotry, whether it's accusing them of faking it or saying that their lives are worthless because of the severity of their disability.

It's probably becsuse it's such a vast spectrum and covers many different presentations.

You don’t need independent reports to request an EHCNA. Having independent reports won’t speed up a Tribunal. Despite the Regs claiming LAs must consider all evidence. This doesn’t stop them considering it and promptly ignoring it forcing parents to appeal. If someone has to appeal, needs independent reports but can’t afford them and isn’t eligible for legal aid, which can fund reports, there are charities e.g. Parents in Need who can help and if the LA has failed to undertake the NA correctly (that includes where the LA state a normal referral to SALT is required instead of seeking the advice and information during the NA), the parents could ask SENDIST to direct the LA seek advice and information.

Wasn’t me that said that I replied to you asking the person … statistically they are more likely to get an EHCP.

it would be dependent on LA who accept private reports easily and who make those fight who have them.

winning a tribunal is far easier with reports.

The problem with neurodiversity is that quite a lot of the diagnosis process is subjective, its diagnosis is done by reports from parents and (usually) school, and since the explosion of private providers, numbers diagnosed have increased dramatically - the suspicion is that if you pay for diagnosis you get what you have paid for (our gp friend says that he knows of nobody who didn’t get a diagnosis, even close friends who he would stake his reputation on them not being autistic!)

DC with SEN are more likely to be eligible for FSM. In January 2025, the most recent statistics from the government, 43.8% of pupils with an EHCP and 39.3% of pupils with school level SEN support were eligible for FSM. Compared to 22.2% of all pupils in schools without SEN.

It is that people who say “I work with kids….” And then go on to claim they know better than their parents, are usually the biggest barrier to any parent getting any help at all, and the reality is, they are full of shit
@BoredZelda
Sometimes professionals do know better than some parents though.

Not every parent is smart or intelligent. There are plenty who come to our services have poor mental health or learning disability themselves.
Some may come from extremely dysfunctional backgrounds and don't know how to parent, feed their child correctly, realise the value of school attendance, don't care about boundaries and consequences, think its ok for 9 year old to be on violent 18 plus rated video games, have no problem that they go mfh.
So how can a professional team, trying to put the right support in place be "full of shit" as you put it 🤔

Gp,s don't diagnose autism and ime don't have a lot of experience of it.

Certainly in my area a lot of the focus for support is parents of children with ASD/ADHD and not other disabilities. I have a child with Down Syndrome and a child with type one diabetes and local authority support is useless where as there are a lot of things for neurodiversity. As there should be obviously but other disabilities need the support too.

And please don’t say ‘down’s’. My DD has Down syndrome, she isn’t ‘down’s’.

GPs are really ignorant as regards neurodiversity as is the vast majority of the NHS.

Children and adults go through screening before the diagnosis process so it is hugely more likely that you’ll walk away with a diagnosis once you get to that stage.

I agree there should definitely be more support for people with all sorts of disabilities. I think it's because ASD and ADHD are the most common disabilities in children, but even the provision for those conditions is hopelessly inadequate.

That’s very unusual. Support for NDs is well known to be dire.

I agree that the focus is in asd/adhd and a lot if the talk about disability does turn to those conditions and I also sometimes feel like saying 'other disabilities exist'

I think, in part, because they make up a big section of people with an ehcp and because the numbers are growing.

I dont know if the numbers of other disabilities have seen the rapid increase in diagnosis or claims for ehcps or benefits so its less controversial.

I have one physically disabled son and one with ASD. The physically disabled chikd didnt need an ehcp to access the support he needed. It just got sorted. Its much easier to see what he needs without a salt of education psych and actually cheaper to deliver.

“Everyone wants a disabled child” this is sick and incredibly demeaning to anyone of us in that situation. Yes, autism and adhd IS increasing. Sorry world, we got to change as humanity changes. As others have said, no one has an issue with other disabilities - mostly because they’re more obvious.

I have a friend whose adult son is profoundly autistic, non verbal and living in a care environment on a 2:1 basis.

I have another friend who is extremely successful on a professional level, very smart, articulate, has a huge social circle etc who paid for an ADHD diagnosis a couple of years ago and now describes himself as disabled. In fact proudly so.

So yeah ultimately I think there is an over diagnosis of autism and ADHD and it ends up almost devaluing those who are genuinely disabled and in huge need of help and support in my opinion.

There is in my area too but it's not a one size fits all and my autistic son has more in common with some children with Down syndrome thsn a lot of children with autism .

The majority of people only get a diagnosis because life is more difficult than it should be because of your disability. It’s also ok to acknowledge that disabilities vary and some can be ‘worse’ at different times or in general.