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.

Sorry, but I’m not clear on what you read…that he said he was or wasn’t?

Apparently women aren’t allowed to be autistic😳

I understand fully. Autism was, until recently, a very rare diagnosis of severe, lifelong, involuntary behaviours that usually resulted in institutionalisation (mostly in males); certainly, the person diagnosed would be very seriously disabled and unable to work, communicate well/at all, often repetitive behaviours are debilitating etc. There were different levels of severity, but all were serious and incapacitating disabilities, impossible to hide or not notice. In recent years, the diagnosis of autism has stretched to include people in their 30s, 40s and 50s with long careers, some with PhDs, a huge number of teenage girls whose major symptoms are social anxiety...there is no way these two groups are suffering from the same thing, as their presentation is not alike, and they have no measurable similarities in their physiology. "Masking" is impossible for people with involuntary behaviours. This new subset can do things like write books/blogs about their diagnosis, speak eloquently on television, pass exams and hold down jobs. They can come onto mumsnet and self advocate. They have zero in common with the people who were once understood as 'autistic' who would be functionally incapable of all of these things. Obviously, autism exists. I also believe there are a large number of people with all kinds of other social problems and differences that are not autism being diagnosed as autistic, and they should not be treated as having the same condition, because there isn't any good evidence that they are, in fact, the same condition.

Yes. This precisely. Sexual trauma can also present in similar ways to AU/ADHD. We are funnelling a lot of people down unsuitable treatment routes and ignoring root causes for an awful lot of neurodiversity.

How are we defining 'recently'? Aspergers was included in the DSM-IV in 1994, so 32 years ago.

Isn’t that pp point? Asperger’s was a separate diagnosis.

some with PhDs

Academia and special interests meet….

Referring to the original question, equally draining must be the growing number of parents asking if their child has autism/ADHD/is masking/has anxiety but at the same time refusing to try any of the actions/strategies suggested or take any responsibility.

Yes - they aren't the same thing. And the current day model is even further away from autism than Asperger's was.

So OP, your argument seems to be that because you think your daughters diagnosis was a good one - and that may well be true - there isn't a problem with over-diagnosis or the diagnostic criteria?

Sorry, that's a silly argument.

A special, obsessive interest is not sufficient to get a doctorate. You need a whole raft of other high-level social, intellectual and emotional skills. Yes, some people with PhD's have social and emotional needs and problems, but the ability to carry off a difficult and highly skilled project and communicate that to others in written and verbal language of a sophisticated level is hardly congruent with any sensible definition of autism. As I said, these people have a different condition. Note - I am not saying they don't have needs. BUT: we will not better understand these needs by insisting they are similar to wildly different needs without any empirical basis to do so.

Clearly not everyone with autism can gain a PhD, but academia is full of people with autism - maths departments generally have more autistic people than not.

I think grouping everyone under autism is a bit like grouping roses, daffodils, laburnum and dandelions together because they all have yellow flowers.

One of the reasons it was incorporated into autism as a whole was there was no way of reliably distinguishing Aspergers from those who had early speech delay (as well as other issues) and who were diagnosed with autism instead, but who developed as ‘high-functioning’ with no intellectual disability.
The diagnoses merged into each other.

I think getting rid of the Aspergers diagnosis was a mistake. There is a huge difference between what used to be called Aspergers syndrome (which is what my dc have) and the original form of autism.

It's the same with other disabilities. I can't say my son has hearing loss or hearing impairment anymore, I have to say he is deaf. But his situation is completely different to someone who can't hear at all. He has glue ear. He has problems with hearing and speech and it is a disability but it's nothing like being profoundly deaf.

I'm going to add prison is almost an underclass working class people will fight hard for their kids too.

Even if tutors and the like are out the question. There's the sitting spending hideous amounts of time on homework. The frustration. The reading books. Trying to encourage kids to keep at it.
The getting the other parent or grandparents to step in if one parent also struggles.
We all know ADHD, Dyslexia and ASD all run in families. If the kid's struggling at least one parent probably is too.

It makes me laugh when people talk about over diagnosis. If people actually had to go through what I have for my child for people to even see that there was a problem despite being extremely violent to me and their siblings, having to hide all knives in the house due to meltdowns and self harm, school refusal and absolutely no help whatsoever being forthcoming from school/GP/social services, despite me begging for help. I've had to pay privately for therapy as I was told that CAMHS waiting list is 3 years long and threatening self harm isn't that bad and if it that bad take them to A&E (ever put a 9 year old in a car during a meltdown?) - the system is an absolute joke. It's propaganda to make the inevitable SEND cuts seem like a good idea to the masses.

Anyone who buys into the over diagnosis is an idiot in my view. I wish there was an overdiagnosis problem I may have got some actual support other than fighting with everyone to even see that there was an issue.

I fully believe I am undiagnosed whether that system from cptsd or autism/ADHD I just know every reaction and handling I've had throughout my life has been somewhat irrational and I'm smart enough to see it so I do not understand. I also have two autistic sons and PCOS and have read research into links but I darent push the doctor more because I just keep getting denied

What suggestions are they then? And who are they being made by? I researched and went to parenting classes, overhauled my life to be the best parent I could and guess what? My child still had significant needs. Could I get anyone to listen to me or even make any suggestions of what I might do to help? Absolutely not. Am I still fighting a system just to have my child barely survive in it? Yep.

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There isn’t a problem with over diagnosis. Both ADHD and autism are under diagnosed in this country.

Why are we having so many more children starting school unable to speak in full sentences?

Responsibility for what?
What strategies?
Parents asking who?

Bullshit!Many people with adhd and autism are vulnerable and more likely to be abused and bullied and suffer trauma because of their ND!

Professionals and parents can do the maths you know. You know working out and recognising when the signs for ND were there and measuring up to when your child was abused is pretty easy. They’re significant life events. 🙄

When I was diagnosed, no one asked me about any childhood trauma.

Your “beliefs” are at odds with experts and professionals pretty much everywhere. To write off my dcs’ autism as social anxiety is hugely offensive. Social anxiety doesn’t involve not being able to cope with supportive living, hospitalisation on a loop, chronic Ed’s, serious self harm etc. My dc have been diagnosed and treated by highly skilled professionals and receive high levels of care. Attempts at masking proved to be catastrophic as they often are with women and girls. They have a few exams however their autism is serious, incapacitating and yes impossible to hide. It’s clear to anybody they meet however much they try to hide it.