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.

So no developmental history. Nobody doing the development history with you thought to raise it.Funny that, when the 4of us were diagnosed by different professionals the developmental history very much went through everything including medical and significant life events.Abuse that happened was a result of ND the signs of which were there for all to see pretty much from birth.

Can I ask what the methodology behind those percentages is?

Is that 1-2% of the whole population has autism? Are you including 30+ year olds who grew up in a culture with far less assumption about people having autism? If so, it’s flawed.

The current rate of diagnosis will mean by the time my kids are middle aged, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more like 20%-30%, going from the number of diagnosed and those on the pathway at my kids normal village school.

Being loud, disruptive, active as a child now seems synonymous with having ADHD. And if someone gets a diagnosis, it’s common for the whole family to now think they’re neurodiverse. Literally every disruptive child in my kids Y3 class is being assessed for ADHD. It’s like kids have to be either perfect or ND now.

Having said that, I expect those identifying as autistic especially will reduce as they age and their symptoms reduce and it becomes apparent it was just children developing at different rates and in different ways.

There are finite resources available unless people are willing to pay more tax. I think we need to shift our thinking in how we approach this. It’s like everyone’s looking for an answer without looking at social media and out shit way of life (and permissive parenting).

Oh my goodness the sheer utter ignorance.

Your village school and hypotheses does not the whole country or data make.

”Being loud, disruptive, active as a child now seems synonymous with having ADHD. And if someone gets a diagnosis, it’s common for the whole family to now think they’re neurodiverse. Literally every disruptive child in my kids Y3 class is being assessed for ADHD. It’s like kids have to be either perfect or ND now.”

😆Tell me you know nothing about ADHD without telling me you know nothing about ADHD. It doesn’t always present as loud, disruptive and active, far from it, hence it often being missed.

No autism sadly does not go away. If anything it seems to get worse in our family.

Autism is not caused by permissive parenting and being diagnosed with autism or adhd does not involved receiving resources, only need does.

There is somewhat of a paradox between "we have a diagnosis and no support" and "we want a diagnosis to get support".

Yes. Developmental history. But nothing about any abuse.
I was slow to develop in some areas. Fast in others. Pretty much like every other kid. My behaviour “symptoms” worsened when I started school.
They said it was common because of the pressure of the classroom.
They didn’t ask if anything else had been going on.

For all of those who believe that autism is being over diagnosed, can I ask whether you have any experience of the diagnostic process? Have you ever been through or witnessed an ADOS for example? Do you know what the diagnostic criteria for autism is under the DSM-V?

Genuine question - a lot of people seem to think diagnoses are being handed out for anxiety and poor behaviour and I wonder if they actually understand what is involved in a diagnosis being reached.

There often isn’t any support to get however if there is support diagnoses can help hugely in making sure it is adjusted to be more effective.

I’m sorry for your DD. My childs school were pushing US to diagnose (I didn’t want to - I was unsure) but the support they have given has been amazing - I hope your dd feels better soon. Sending hugs.

There's support and support though isn't there. There might not be any formal support in terms of therapies but some schools want a DX for even reasonable adjustments.

I have not been through the process but filled in lots of referral forms and read plenty of diagnostic reports.

I still think there are some children diagnosed with conditions, adhd in particular, that aren't the correct diagnosis. So much of the report is self or parent report and I've had children quote "what I need to say at the appointment" to me. Another child would say "I do X because I'm autistic, I googled it" then the next week have another put on behaviour. That child got a diagnosis of autism when they had some sort of personality disorder. Obviously this is a small minority, but to pretend these parents aren't out there is unreasonable.

I agree with this. A friend's son has what I would think of as classic autism - he has never acquired speech, is incontinent and has involuntary physical behaviours that mean he hurts himself. He needs a huge amount of support and will never live independently let alone work.
Meanwhile I know several teenagers who have been diagnosed in recent years due to social anxiety. Their struggles just do not compare to that of my friends son, they are mostly screen addicted but are perfectly able to talk, function, make food for themselves, and could pass exams etc if it weren't for them refusing to go to school and instead spending 80% of their time on screens.

Children developing at different rates? My son is four. He only says a few words on repeat amongst other things. You would have to be a rubbish teacher to not realise that he is way behind and obviously autistic especially when with peers.In fact if a child is developing at a very different rate it should not be dismissed.

Children can’t be diagnosed with personality disorders.

Social anxiety isn’t going to get you an autism diagnosis.

The child was subsequently diagnosed with a personality disorder??

My point was that having sat through an ADOS myself and then having read both my report and that of my child (I wasn't in the room for theirs), the things that were being observed by the clinician whilst we were being asked to do the strangest of tasks, I don't believe could have been faked by a child, or indeed most people, for that whole hour.

That would be a very impressive child to know exactly what they were looking for whilst doing each of the tasks and being able to act 'autistic' throughout that whole time.

But an alarming number of children are starting school unable to speak in full sentences. Your child will now be one of multiple in the class when only a few years ago, it was much rarer.

Might just be where I am but nearly all the children I know who are joining him for school speak fine. I know only two other boys who are non verbal or nearly and they are likely autistic. I don't deny some need speech therapy but if they are not speaking it is more likely they are ND. My son isnt just slightly delayed though. He only says a few words at four. Suppose you think I didn't sing or read to him enough?

This just hasn't been my experience. I've been through the diagnostic process for all of my family:

DD1:
ASD (15 at diagnosis, but under paediatrician since 2 years 9 months, 1:1 at preschool and special school since 4). Questionnaires to both school and home. School questionnaire completed with great detail (I was given a copy). ADOS completed by a specialist SALT and an Occupational Therapist. Developmental interview by a Consultant child psychiatrist. The report covers early developmental history, medical history, family history, risk, educational history, the ADOS findings, developmental interview findings and the concluding diagnosis.

ADHD: now aged 20. Currently in progress. Consultant learning disabilities psychiatrist is assessing. We've had 2 hours of assessment so far, but due to DD1's difficulty in coping with sessions, it's likely to take a further 4 sessions of assessment before a decision can be made.

DD2:
ASD diagnosis at 11. School and home questionnaires. ADOS face to face, 3Di interview face to face. Again, SALT, OT, Psychiatrist.

ADHD (inattentive) diagnosis at 18. Questionnaires, video assessment with two different clinicians on separate occasions.

DD3:
ASD diagnosis at 15. School and home questionnaires. ADOS online. Developmental interview online.

ADHD assessment at 15 face to face with Consultant child Psychiatrist. QB Check test.

Me:
ASD assessment online with questionnaires and developmental interviews. Needed information back to early childhood. SALT and OT.

ADHD assessment online. Questionnaires for both me and my DH. The assessor wouldn't ask specific questions because he said that he tended to hear 'cookie cutter answers based on TikTok videos', so just introduced themes and asked me to explain why I thought I had symptoms in those areas.

DH:
ASD assessment online. Questionnaires to him and me prior.

ADHD assessment online on 2 separate occasions with 2 different clinicians. Questionnaires to him and me. For the 2nd interview they requested his Mum join to give an early childhood perspective, despite the fact that she now lives in France, because I have only known him since age 19.

I don't doubt that some people convince themselves that they have ASD or ADHD, absorb all the info available on TikTok and then parrot it out at assessment. In fact my ADHD assessor said that he spends much of his day telling people that they don't have ADHD and that what they've seen on TikTok is not hallmark ADHD. They are actually looking for much more subtle signs than 'I get a bit distracted, me' or 'I'm so messy and disorganised, aren't I?'

This child clearly had one, extreme levels of manipulation and lying. Possibly learnt behaviour from home, but they were not autistic. Private diagnosis and having read the report it wasn't very thorough compared to others I have seen.

Children can’t be diagnosed with personality disorders for good reason- they involve a lot more than that.

Loving the arm chair diagnosticians dissing professional diagnoses and giving out their own based on very little in return whilst slating the parents.

Why oh why do parents of children with hidden disabilities have to put up with this shite?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy85pwg3dyjo

Teachers are reporting a huge surge in children starting school with poor language skills and being unable to use the toilet properly.

This surge has been in the last 5-10 years.

What has caused this surge?

Do we really now have 20-30% (and growing) of the population with additional needs? Or is something else happening?

Because avoiding the conversation and the awkward topics helps no one.

It's not about him, you've misunderstood my post.

It's about the fact that diagnosis means, apparently, that you must be "severely affected" by your traits to get a diagnosis.

I've been told that because I don't describe myself as "severely affected" by my traits I can't possibly have a diagnosis. (I do, from an NHS psychiatrist. )

If it's true, and it's been repeated often enough by enough people that I believe that it is, this means that you could have two people with exactly the same traits, one in a lifestyle that doesn't suit their traits and one in a lifestyle that does, and one will get a diagnosis and one won't.

That's just crazy. It wouldn't apply to any other condition.

What helps is children and adults being diagnosed in a timely fashion by the NHS and getting the support and help they need without struggling parents and children having to put up with abelist arm chair diagnosticians spouting abelist shite.

Undiagnosed and unsupported autism and adhd is costing the uk billions.

Because we've literally heard the child quote what to say at the appointment. I've literally seen them arrive with a new "symptom" of autism weekly. I've seen the child fake a writing assessment and even the person doing the assessment said the child was lying. The child also pretended to be unable to read yet would regularly read and respond to things they weren't happy with in school, and quoted the behaviour policy back at staff. This is a small snapshot of the observed behaviours and no one in the school (including Ed psych) thought the child was autistic. I don't want to list other things that might identify the child. They had something else and were misdiagnosed. But a 2h private appointment diagnosed them with autism.