To find the growing narrative of over diagnosis (autism, adhd and mental health) upsetting and draining

[Frazzlesforever]

There seems to be a drip drip of press headlines and change in the conversation that too many people are getting diagnosed. And that some parents are being too pushy to get extra help or trying to get be benefits etc.

As the parent of a high masking autistic girl I had to push for diagnosis although the school just saw a highly compliant, quiet anxious child. My daughter is now extremely mentally unwell through not coping in school, has had to drop out of school missing her gcses, emergency CAMHs involvement - devastating for her and us.

She is exactly the type of child who would fall under the radar. Just an anxious child with over anxious parents. Apparently seeming to cope until she just couldn't. Surely if anything we need better understanding and support for these types of children not less. Otherwise we also risk kicking the problem down the road To severe problems in adulthood. - poor mental health/outcomes etc.

Thars bollocks ,DLA goes off NEED not diagnosis.

ND only takes up a percentage of the 20% SEND.

I have worked with several children who have been assessed privately for Autism/ADHD and told they did not meet the criteria for diagnosis.

It is a myth that if you want a diagnosis and go private you're guaranteed to get one.

Not ignorance, but observation from reading and posts.
I was talking about ADHD not autism. Which is quite different.

There is a limited amount of money. The state cannot pay for everything. If hundreds and thousands of people are neurodiverse to the extent they need state help to one degree or another there will be no money to pay for anything else. We are already seeing this in local authorities where the spending on ECHPs massively outstrips budget. So it is an issue we need to grapple with: if more or less everybody is autistic/adhd these things are no longer disabilities but simply part of the spectrum of human experience we have to navigate.

In my view, the state is not primarily responsible for helping your daughter to manage her anxiety and thrive. Her parents are. I personally think that lumping anxious female teens into the autistic spectrum is doing nobody any favours - least of all the girls in question. These children have issues but they probably aren’t the same as what we previously understood autism to be, and so they need different solutions. I think the massive expansion of social media use that can be directly mapped onto an increase in ND diagnosis is where we should be finger pointing (and where we should be getting the money to address the mental health fallout).

I really dislike this idea that it's pushy middle class parents getting these diagnoses and especially becsuee it's fashionable . Linked article actually said being Asperger's is a badge of honour because many people in history have had it.

Most people want easier lives and just getting on with it they don't went worries and struggles where there are non

Yes people on here are always giving armchair diagnoses but that's not the same as hsving an actual diagnosis.

Yes ignorance as the type of posts you’re reading clearly spread misinformation.

There is an overlap between ADHD and autism which can share similar traits. Many like my children and myself often have both so no not quite different.

I think you need to find a better place to read up on the subject.

I stand corrected !
The observations were from articles in the Times, Mumsnet etc when people described ADHD behaviours, and of course the internet.
All those who wrote such things should take note.

The problem with neurodiversity is that if ths diagnostic criteria keep broadening the way they have the last 20 years, an increasingly common range of behavioural traits get included. It becomes harder and harder to distinguish between "neurotypical" and "neurodiverse".

If everyone is "different"....no one is.

Human beings are by nature incredibly diverse & have to make many personal compromises for the benefits we gain through living in large groups. Its normal to struggle, normal to "mask" underlying feelings for social cohesion. Part of childrearing is training children to "fit in" and follow groups rules, socialising them to group behaviours that keep us safe, avoid conflicts, allow us to work collectively to survive difficult periods etc.

For me, the worry about the broadening of diagnostic criteria is the corresponding, rather unpleasant, narrowing of what we consider "normal".

The state already limits whsts available
My son gets quite alot of support

He goes to a special school ,gets the highest rates of DLA ,gets respite including 4 overnight a month
But his disabilities are very complex and he needs a high level of support
This kind of support isnt available to most children with a diagnosis of autism.

Only 5% of children have an EHCP and only a third of those are ND.

And what the actual hell-

“In my view, the state is not primarily responsible for helping your daughter to manage her anxiety and thrive. Her parents are. I personally think that lumping anxious female teens into the autistic spectrum is doing nobody any favours - least of all the girls in question. These children have issues but they probably aren’t the same as what we previously understood autism to be, and so they need different solutions. I think the massive expansion of social media use that can be directly mapped onto an increase in ND diagnosis is where we should be finger pointing (and where we should be getting the money to address the mental health fallout).”

You don’t get an autism diagnosis for being an anxious teenage girl!!!

My dc’s MH struggles are not my fault. I’ve been told that by every professions I’ve met. Their ND which is massive and not just a bit of anxiety a parent can erase has caused their struggles the late diagnosis of which has caused the NHS so much more. Masking ND and all its difficulties doesn’t make it go away it makes difficulties worse.

The misogyny and ignorance as regards this subject is massive.

I’m an autistic adult. I would really benefit from some support but as far as I am aware, there isn’t any - at least not affordable support.

From the article in the times about the interim review :

We need a system that is more proportionate, more responsive and less dependent on diagnosis alone. One that can offer support earlier, in a wider range of settings, and in ways that are aligned to need rather than determined by labels.

That does not mean abandoning diagnosis. For many people, it remains essential — for understanding, for treatment, for access to support. But it does mean being more precise about what diagnosis is for, and what it is not.

There is another, quieter issue that we must also confront. For all the progress we have made in raising awareness of mental health, we have not always been clear about what that awareness is for. We have encouraged people to recognise distress and seek help. We have been less clear about how to stay well, what different kinds of help are available, when clinical intervention is needed, and when other forms of support might be more effective.

@dizzydizzydizzy did you find that things improved post menopause? I have ADHD and autism diagnoses and I am having a terrible time with perimenopause. I feel like my battery is completely f*ed. Zero motivation.

One fun fact is that evidence has shown that the brain seeks more distractions when it is distracted. How do we make that into something that works for everyone; diagnosis or not?

Yep. The diagnosis may not get people extra money in itself but once the diagnosis is there, the rest follows and difficulties can be easily exaggerated.

No they can’t, you need proof.

You need evidence to back up what you put on the form
And by evidence I mean proper evidence witnessed by professionals working with the child
Not just a Gp,s " mum says" letter.

I assume you didn't read the part where op said she was diagnosed in her late fifties so very obviously had her children before her diagnosis in your keenness have a pop.

Wow so the disabled shouldn’t have children now.

A new low, even for MN.

Oh this is going to go down well..

Setting aside the attitude, how would PP know she had an issue when she had children given the fact she didn’t know she had it when she had children - one of the issues of late diagnosis.

She says it had affected her whole life so obviously knew something was wrong. And child( ren) That suggests there's more than one.

It may feel like it but it is not true to say that “nearly everybody” is autistic or has ADHD.

Both of them are extremely significant diagnoses, in the same that diabetes, asthma, heart disease or obesity are. I’m guessing you don’t think that the NHS should stop or limit its diagnoses in these areas.

Neurodivergence, especially when undiagnosed or untreated, usually has a significant outcome on many aspects of life. I have underperformed in my education, career and my ability to manage my finances. It has also impacted on my physical health - I am now too ill to work due to a chronic illness, which was caused by stress (partly the stress of living with neurodivergence).

it is a known fact that prisons have a very high proportion of people with ADHD and the same can be said of gambling, alcohol and drug addicts.