The over diagnosis of ADHD and autism is ruining children’s lives.

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‘So, before a child has fully developed, they are diagnosed with a disorder. That’s disorientating. It's no wonder that a study has found that around 70% of children diagnosed with autism also suffer from depression and anxiety! Again, it’s worth asking who really benefits from these labels?’

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/opinion-this-obsession-with-diagnosing-kids-with-autism-and-adhd-is-ruining-their-lives-i-should-know/ar-AA1Iscvg?ocid=socialshare

A friend's DS has a chromosome deletion (a different one to yours IIRC) and I remember his dad saying that virtually everyone with the same deletion has Autism

In my case it's because of a rare birth defect where the genes are very similar. I'm in Facebook groups where virtually everyone or their child with my diagnosis has Autism. But I'm also aware in my family it's genetic. I think I'm the only diagnosed female though

This is so similar to me. Delays at the 2 year old check. Autism diagnosis at 9. Sounds very similar to your experience.

I'm also curious about the "non verbal" people talk about. My child now speaks fluently but had less than 20 words until they were 5. It was actually being at home during covid where the rapid development started, in speech and other areas. Whether its coincidence or that nursery/pre school wasn't actually the right environment. Despite what I was "advised". I will never know.

Ahh thanks, I am really glad you got something right there :)

Once you are able to distinguish between male and female, and practise what you preach regarding comprehension, you might just start to make it up there yourself! Slowly but surely my lovey

*practice

What is your background OP?
what experience/qualifications do you have to feel there is over diagnosis?

I ask as a sibling to someone who has been diagnosed as an adult, a parent to a child I suspect to be neurodivergent, a teacher for 15 years and now teaching in a SEN school.

A mental health specialist with ten years of experience said it.. well it must be true so.
25 years teaching and an autistic dd and I would say both conditions are under diagnosed. I have had many children who slipped through the system because they managed and masked or had undiagnosed parents who did not see any issues with certain behaviors.

Well its a huge spectrum some children are just speech delayed and some will never speak ,I have a non verbal 15 year old I dont know why he's never developed speech there is no physical reason why he can't speak.

Of course you do

I think the late or indeed lack of diagnosis in the adults who have autism and ADHD and ignorance in many peoples attitudes towards both ND children and ND adults is much more damaging to lives

You are very mistaken if you think there is financial gain to be had from having a neuro developmental disorder. Aside from the fact that people in this category tend to have much lower lifetime earnings and worse life expectancy, having these disabilities can cost a fortune. School uniforms adapted for sensory sensitivity costs a fortune, sensory equipment is expensive, poor executive function causes real financial disadvantage in a world set up for the neuro typical.

It is endless and costs a fortune - especially when one earner can't work full time because children (including adult children) need the extra support.

YABVU.

DS1’s autism is almost certainly not genetic. I have been informed on MN previously when I mentioned this that I was “talking shit”. It’s remarkable how random people on the internet know more about other people’s conditions and diagnoses than they do.

My child wasn't actually that delayed but learned to speak in a different way (gestalt language processing) and had lots of other little things nursery picked up on. Maybe your child did feel safer at home and started to talk bless them.

I should probably stop taking the bait commenting on posts like this but I find it so frustrating.

I do think that the current self diagnosis trend (for want of a better word) and by extension the diagnosis of others is a problem.

Perhaps the government should sort out 8 year waiting lists and people wouldn't need to self diagnose.

‘You are very mistaken if you think there is financial gain to be had from having a neuro developmental disorder. ‘

That’s not what I said. Obviously I don’t think that. I said ‘ I also think lots [of diagnoses] are exaggerated for financial gain’. Which they are, no doubt. It’s one reason why the bulging benefit system needs an overhaul. This view has in no way suggested that genuine cases are for financial gain. Of course they are not. I’ve got a significant neurological disorder myself. So it pisses me off to see people gaming the system and making it worse for people who have genuine issues / diagnoses.

But that isn’t what this post is about really. I don’t think kids should all be so quickly and seemingly irreversibly labelled from a young age, some it may help, many it doesn’t. But some do seek labels - diagnoses- for financial gain, no question. Teachers for eg. Are asked to sign DLA forms etc, when they don’t want to. You see posts about this on mn.

It’s a shame that whenever this issue is brought up, people clamour to jump on the bandwagon of trying to silence anyone who raises a very real issue. A tax payers issue.

Nonsense
I work in an adult diagnostic service and the vast majority of people we see have a history of anxiety and depression long before their diagnosis.
My daughters anxiety actually reduced somewhat when there was an explanation for her differences.
Explanations matter, both in terms of people understanding themselves and getting others to recognise that they are not just being difficult.

What are teachers signing on DLA forms? Who is forcing them to do it against their will?

There were some posts about it. it seemed to be to vouch for or witness a kids condition. To support their DLA application and doctors sign off. Some Parents asking some teachers to do this.

YABU

What nonsense

You think we all just walk down the high street and choose which diagnosis shop to pop into on a Saturday afternoon.

Wobble your head. It's a lengthy process involving multiple different disciplinary professionals and many different setting (school, home, clinic) observations over a period of time.

And is very difficult to access via NHS and if private very costly

Stop posting shite.

Teachers or even medical professionals don't simply just ''sign off'' DLA forms. They write lengthy evidence about the child's needs and what they need for support. Parents can't force any teacher or medical professional to do it.

A diagnosis is irrelevant because a child doesn't need a diagnosis to receive DLA, not to mention the fact that it can often take years for a child to be officially diagnosed due to waiting lists.

You don't seem to know very much about DLA considering you believe something as serious as parents pushing for a diagnosis (which again, isn't needed) for financial reasons.

@SENschoolsearch You might always try to shut down people who have a slightly more nuanced view than yourself, but it won’t always work. #no debate doesn’t cut it any more. People are asking questions. As I said above, it’s not about genuine cases. But people need to understand not everyone has a valid case for diagnosis, and moreover, they need to be assessed over time.

It was obvious my son had autism at 2. He didn't need to be fully developed for it to be diagnosed.
He also has a anxiety diagnosis but given his level of understanding I doubt it was the thought of being diagnosed with autism that caused it.

This thread is a variation on the typical disability benefits bashing thread.

OP what is your expertise in ND conditions?

100 euro an hour for SLT and OT .
50 euro a month for autism social groups. Same per individual swimming lesson and 60 a month for an autism sports group.
Countless replacement remote controls (iykyk)
DH on reduced hours so she can stay home from school when it's too much .

I'm definitely rolling in it having an autistic child.

@67854568G why do you think the author of this article is qualified to make such an assertion.