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.

Adhd meds are well tolerated by the vast majority of those who take them. In many cases they're a complete game changer. The majority also manage with very few side effects - or side effects that certainly do not outweigh the benefits. Like every medication, it is often the case that different types may need trying to find the one that is best tolerated by the individual. It is also the case that medication is generally more effective when used alongside other therapies. This is also the case with autism (no medication, though therapeutic intervention can help a person to manage better) with associated anxiety (can be medicated to reduce the threshold enough to allow an individual to access therapeutic intervention).

I went to school in the 70/80s as well.
Kids were regularly sent to the headmasters office and caned.
Many never returned, they were expelled as impossible to educate.

I got into physical fights (despite being a girl) with boys who teased me because I wanted to play football. They wouldn’t let me join in, so I brought my own football and practice on my own. They thought it was funny to kick their ball at me to hit me or take my ball and play keep away. I had to beat up the ring leader for the bullying to stop. Two teachers pulled me off of him. I’m not proud of it, but I was NOT coping. I also was terrified of the pool and got into trouble for running off whenever we were supposed to have swimming lessons. I couldn’t keep a beat in music class and was regularly hit by the teacher.

Academically I was bored out of my mind. It was all too easy. I would be sent to the back corner to face the wall for being distracting. Yet I still aced all the exams and coursework.

A kid copied my exam once and I was publicly accused of cheating in front of the entire class because of my wild reputation. But when they looked at our records, the other child could never have aced that test so the cheating accusation was quitely dropped.

this was all in one year of primary school. I wasn’t coping and I noticed a lot of other kids not coping either because we would be the ones sat outside the headmaster’s office day in and day out.

Follow the money

But i think most people are like this life isn't easy

This. My sister is convinced me and my dad are autistic (she is AuDHD, and presents classically as such with accompanying mental health issues from prolonged masking).

She might be right, and some of the things she says do ring true, but my Dad is a (admittedly grumpy) business owner who has been relatively successful, and I’m a high earning successful professional with a husband and a mortgage.

She constantly pushes us to get a diagnosis, and if I believe the social media posts around that highlight autistic traits then I’d probably get one. But what help is that to anyone, and actually I think it would be harmful to people who actually do need help as it would dilute the struggles that autistic people can have as I’ve coped well with life, I just have developed a lot of mechanisms that allow me to.

Huge caveat, I’ve never done any research of my own and I am not diagnosed, so I also could go for a diagnosis and find out I’m neurotypical, and then that whole point would be moot!

Don't get me wrong I don't want a diagnosis so he can be in special school (he absolutely doesn't need that level of support) or medication or anything else. I want him to have a diagnosis so when he feels different and like 'an alien' he has an understanding of why that is.

The issue is of course resources. There’s not enough to go round so unfortunately people are looking around at who needs it the most, and ADHD, autism and some MH conditions are less severe in some cases.
Everyone would ideally have the opportunity for support to help their lives be as fulfilling as possible but there is not enough money for this.

A childvis not going to get a diagnosis just becsuse a parent wants one.

@tackytriceratops

Agree. My nan over the course of her lifetime was diagnosed with

severe depressive disorder
borderline personality disorder
schizophrenia (she was often hospitalised with audio hallucinations and delusions)
multiple personality disorder

And then one psych said she was probably autistic. It was all just a bit of a joke in the end. She was clearly very ill due to being abused as a child but she was incredibly bright. Maybe she was autistic. Who knows. When she died we needed a huge plastic box to collect her files from our local NHS psych hospital. Makes for very interesting reading.

Oh I know. I’ve seen the life changing difference it makes to some. For some extremely badly affected children, they can actually begin to learn for the first time ever.

But the environmental factors need to be considered too.

Jessica McCabe helped me hugely. Using the strategies we use at school on myself helped me hugely!

@x2boys

Some were going private. In my opinion they will absolutely get those diagnoses if they want them.

It takes years in my family and a huge amount of persistance to get near diagnosis and then the amount of help on offer been varriable and often none.

There's huge pressure to blame other things -- then there huge waiting lists for any medication as well - (ADHD).

That's been true of quiet males and females but even the really loud unstable ones at the minute are waiting years and being shoved out of education in meantime.

I think it's been in the family visibly for generations - just world is harder to function in than previously.

Im so sorry to hear about your nan. That must have been so tough.

This is an excellent and important read and likely what Uta Frith was referring to when she dropped the “hypersensitive” bomb.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/09/the-orchid-and-the-dandelion-by-w-thomas-boyce-review?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

You’re right, far better to spend the money on bombs, bullets, warships, fighter jets and so on. Why invest in the future when we are all going to be killing each other soon.

Same here, OP. Also people assume they are badly behaved or disruptive. Or that you just want benefits. My only reason for a diagnosis was I thought it would help DD.

My bigger beef though is with schools, not overdiagnosis. How can schools fail girls like ours so badly? If they can't cope with quiet, anxious pupils they are royally fucked.

100% this

What a bizarre post.

Talk to anyone in the teaching profession with this length of service, and we'll all say the same.

It's ridiculous to infer that it is rose tinted specs. There has been a massive sea change in children in a short space of time.

There is always money for war.

Experts, particularly within the autistic community, researchers focusing on neurodiversity, and clinicians, have heavily criticised recent views expressed by Dame Uta Frith. Her views on women and girls is particularly alarming .

And the NAS

www.autism.org.uk/blog/challenging-misinformation-about-autism-using-evidence-to-correct-false-claims

So, school isn't working for 50% of the class. Ever thought it might be school that is the problem @TheHouse ?

I think you've hit the nail on the head. There is very little support once someone has a diagnosis, where the person is high functioning. And im not sure there needs to be. I am the same as you, pretty sure I'm autistic, but ive managed into my 30s and I fail to see what good a diagnosis would do me. I can read up on things myself. I think people need to think about that and what they will actually gain before jumping on the bandwagon. I'm talking about functioning adults here of course, not children who are showing the signs and struggling.

Some families have autistic traits going back longer than diagnoses have been given. My husband has autistic traits, I have ADHD but was never "taught " how to manage hyperfocii or is it hyperfocese? It took research on the internet to realise i had bad relationships due to adhd, one of which hadn't mentally ended until I followed the guidance. 2 of my 3 children have been diagnosed and my other one has strong autistic signs but doesn't want to be diagnosed.

On my husband's side of the family one child has really bad autism, he was diagnosed early 90s and although seriously intelligent, doctorate in astrophysics, he cannot manage in the real world as he has no risk awareness and would be killed trying to cross the road.

Do you think that’s related to a massive sea change in the quality of parenting in a short space of time?

I get the impression education is still largely functioning on the model of, carry on doing things as we always have and layer on "extra support" for the kids who the doctors say can't cope. But the doctors are saying more and more kids can't cope.

I feel it would probably be more sustainable to move more strongly in a direction that fewer kids struggle to cope in in the first place, so less individual support is needed.

E.g. in a classroom of 30 where 5 are in danger of suffering sensory overload, rather than giving TAs to the 5, try just to make the whole environment less overwhelming full stop.

My bigger beef though is with schools, not overdiagnosis. How can schools fail girls like ours so badly? If they can't cope with a quiet, anxious pupil they are royally fucked.

Yep -- that's me but also two of my kids - one male but mostly quiet. All had to wait till uni as schools insisted we were fine till we weren't then it was all on us being problematic.

There many others - often friend of my DC - all fine according to schools till they reach breaking point and parents then end up spending a fortune navigating private system of disgososis to get any help and understanding - and then critised for doing that by media and posters as well they've just paid for a label.