10 year olds more likely to be on disability benefits than 50 year olds

[AgeingMillennial]

AIBU to think this is absolutely baffling? And at some point we really have to investigate why so many young children are non verbal, have severe emotional regulation problems etc?

We take home over £300k a year, 50% goes to the government in tax. We claim DLA for our son who I am sure is disabled due to his traumatic instrumental birth. The NHS have always refused neurology investigation for him as they would rather he just lived on DLA and PIP than payout for any sort of claim. He is ‘autistic’ and that’s enough for them. I have paid privately for most things but you can’t get advanced medicine or genetics for children privately in the UK. They are even cracking down on private paediatricians. I have fought for everything for him, an EHCP, a specialist placement etc etc. He will never have a job or live independently. I am so sick of people’s attitudes towards disability. That’s both those who are faking it and those who dismiss it. These young people cos playing physical disability and using wheel chairs they don’t need are so disturbed but our society is so broken that they think behaving like this is their right. I despair.

How do you explain the rise in child suicides then? https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/increases-found-preteen-suicide-rate

Yes the children are boys here too, although I can think of 1 girl at my daughter’s last school. I assume the hair shaving is so they can’t pull it. One of the kids is really distressed and chewing very hard on his hand. It’s quite upsetting

Who knows. There’s an awful lot of crap out there that isn’t good for us though. We are very far from nature and poor health is rising in almost every category.

Then why is it always anxiety you hear about and not depression? I was a depressed kid, didn't get diagnosed but I expect if it was nowaways I'd just be diagnosed with anxiety and maybe autism. But never depression, even though I was. Depression can mimic less severe types of autism too.

That sounds hard for him.

I’ve never actually seen the ones at school act out or distressed. Not even a grunt or side glance but again they all have their iPads.

Ive not seen what happens at hand over however as Im a get out as soon as my child goes in the door kinda parent not hanging around.

Maclaren major pushchairs - these are one of the cheaper SN buggies. When the NHS and charities issue/fund an SN buggy, they usually start with the cheaper options unless there is a reason a more expensive one is needed. Parents who buy an SN buggy are also likely to buy a cheaper one if it is suitable and there is a fair few second hand.

Shaved head - many DC with additional needs find hair cuts difficult. A not insignificant number of parents shave their DC’s head to reduce the trauma DC experience from hair cuts and hair washing/brushing. Some find longer hair difficult from a sensory perspective. Some pull their hair so having it shaved is easier.

iPad - OP mentions non-verbal DC. Not all but many non-verbal DC use tablets as a communication aid. Some verbal DC do too.

Ok so went looking for data on this.

best guess is research study here which is available and says that older data says half of autistic children non verbal at age 5 but 2007 study with about 100 kids says 30% non verbal at age 5.

link:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3869868/#R1

also says that as time and money put into pre school interventions number of non verbal autistic children dropping (plus diagnostic category widening).

so best guess is thirty percent of those children are non verbal.

which gives 30% of 67,000 is 20,100. Which is significantly less.

The DfE data for 5 year olds says that double the number of boys than girls are diagnosed with ASD.

from the table I pulled out from DfE stats

If you have depression, you'd be diagnosed with depression. If you have anxiety, you'd be diagnosed with anxiety. If you have autism, you'd be diagnosed with autism. If you have more than one of those, you'd be diagnosed with a combination of things. What is your point? Big Anxiety are out to...do something?

Fair point. They are still adamant she has ADHD though

It is important to note, the DfE statistics aren’t about diagnosis, they are about the recorded primary need, which isn’t quite the same thing. A DC could have an ASD diagnosis but not have ASD as their primary need. Equally, in some cases, the primary need is ASD when there isn’t (yet) a formal diagnosis.

Plus there are other primary needs where some may be non-verbal.

But you're scoffing at the idea of anxiety or depression increasing, saying it's just young people are more open to taking about it now. So if mental health problems haven't increased, why are suicide rates up?

Which is irrelevant as DLA is based on needs, not diagnosis. I wonder if they got a long award initially and are just not saying anything knowing that if they did, she likely wouldn't be eligible for DLA any more.

I didn't scoff. You can piss off now.

Ok, you didn't scoff, you just laughed out loud.

"Lol anxiety in young people has not "spiked". There's been a huge campaign to encourage people to speak more about their mental health over recent years."

This x100.

I honestly don't understand why so many posters are pushing back at the very idea of nutrition or any other factor having an effect. Pretty much any medical issue can be helped with lifestyle changes, even if only a tiny bit.

I'm so glad some of your DC's symptoms improved.

Oh come on it’s easy to cook from scratch

My point is, I very rarely see parents saying how their kid has depression. Which is a more serious issue most of the time. I suppose it's the stigma.

I always wonder what’s the big trigger from just being sad or grieving to being depressed tbh.

@FlipFlopSocks you are spot on I think this is the third thread in 24 hrs of a similar nature.

@Holeymoley28 it can definitely be hard to tell at first I think. I guess by the point someone is withdrawing, doesn't enjoy things like they used to, loss of interest etc. Sleep and eating schedule might be different. Though in young kids apparently they tend to be more irritable and have unexplained pain (I always remember getting stomach aches) no one wants a depressed kid though do they...so diagnose them with anxiety instead.

Disability can be acquired through life (injury, sickness, poisoning) or something you are born with...

Lots of conditions that cause disability used to shorten life. Many still do. So it is absolutely logical that of those born with severe disabilities and health conditions there would be more under the age of ten than above the age of 50. Some severly unwell children will never be severely unwell 50 year olds and the same goes for the severely ill children of 50 years ago (to an event greater extent)

At the other end of the scale health care has advanced and there has been more awareness of health issues caused by smoking, asbestos, mercury etc. Better health and safety for workplaces. Almost all the over 50s will have grown up under the NHS. So the amount of older working people coming down with non-congenital severe disabilities should have reduced. Remember 50 years ago there would have been adults over 50 with WWII injuries. Today's over 50s don't have the same proportion of wartime injuries etc.

What on earth is going on, on MN this week.

Have I missed some sort of “fuck the disabled” news push? The government saying you have to immediately pass all of your belongings to the nearest autistic child? Has someone told you that there’s a huge influx of non verbal kids and they’re all going to live in your kitchen?

I ask because the nonsense is fucking rife these last few days. Feels like a new thread every few hours with the same old stuff.

Carrots and supplements won’t make my child less disabled. It’s not his iPad, it’s genetic. He has short hair because he won’t tolerate haircuts and I like having arms. Taking him to school isn’t grunt work, it’s being his mother, just like when you do it. Yes, he’ll also be a disabled adult. I’m assuming he will live with the many other disabled adults you refer to, because some point his father and I will die.

Hope all of the above helps, but..

At some point in the next week can we stop with all the ableist waffle please?