ASD is the new ADHD

[Mick4Jue]

I have just joined (I am Grandma to 8 week old 1st grandchild)
I was the 1st person in England to be awarded DLA and Care Allowance for my son..who was 13 at the time...and he is still getting DLA now at 33 years old.!
It took 18 months of (embarrassing) honesty..insisting the DWP spend time at my home watching him..school reports..home diaries...doctors reports et al.
When his DLA came up for review last year it was 'rubber stamped' and awarded for a further three years because the DWP regard a diagnosis of ADHD as unquestionable.!

It seems to me that we are still lucky enough to be bringing up children with ADHD...and yes it is very challenging.
I have answers to lots of your questions about behaviour because of my experience and my regrets for not standing my ground and insisting he was nothing more than an individual.

It seems possible to me that the DWP have renamed ADHD to ASD(Autistic Spectrum Disorder) in order to test you to the limits to allow you to be awarded what is rightfully yours. Indeed..his award notice stated he had ASD...which I vehemently denied and insisted they got his diagnosis right and amended his records to show ADHD.

There is much to be discussed on this issue..and maybe I could offer some words of wisdom and some ways to deal with behaviour issues..not just with the child...but also those who will at times be responsible for him (i.e Schools)

Talk to me please.....

[freechoicereally]

I thought it was the impulsiveness of ADHD that can lead to bad driving decisions, impatience, overtaking and all that? Diddn't think that was controversial?

I don't drive but read some stuff from the DVLA a year or two back and got the impression ADHD was something I'd have to tell them if I did start to drive. PITA but I can imagine an insurance company not paying if up I didn't. (No one advised me of that that was just my take on the info online.)

[freechoicereally]

Cross-posted with minewouldbeyoug.

[freechoicereally]

Maybe it's because I don't drive that it's easier for me to accept the idea that ADHD can affect it?

The way I see it if you have ADHD it affects all sorts of bits of your life and we can't conveniently ring-fence something like driving and say "oh but not that, I'm fine when I do that".

Even if someone doesn't notify the DVLA they ought to think about whether or not their driving is affected just in case. Some people it might not affect at all but we can't just dismiss it as irrelevant and shoot the messenger because we don't like it.

[minewouldbeyoug]

The blanket advice to report is because if you ring up the DVLA and say 'I have ADHD, do I need to tell you?' they will always say yes and send out a form.

I have never known anyone declare it and have their licence revoked unless their specialist team has written to the DVLA to say they shouldn't be driving.

But we consider it better to advise people they should declare it and leave it to them to make the decision - we have to give all service users all the information and if they have capacity - they can make their own decision. And it also means that no-one can be in a car accident and innocently mention they have ADHD and be fricking horrified that the DVLA consider that to be a reportable condition that was not declared and their insurance is invalid and they're also liable for a fine.

It's the same reason we tell people potential side effects of medication even if they're rare - because as HCPs we should give service users all the information they need about their condition, their treatment and the possible implications in their wider lives. Because then they have all the information available to make their own decisions.

My friend just paid over £400 travel insurance for a two week holiday in Florida. Because he has a heart condition. It's unlikely he'll get ill because of it while on holiday but he thought declaring it and being covered was preferable to taking the small risk he'd get ill in the US and be faced with a huge health care bill as his insurance would be invalid by not declaring it. He could have taken the risk and that was up to him. Similar thing with ADHD and the DVLA - it's up to the individual but they could be in the shit for not declaring it of involved in an accident.

I think it's better people know that might happen than not mentioning it.

[freechoicereally]

It's all academic really because, you know, what are the chances that the notifying will actually get done and not just be endlessly not got round to and then forgotten about?

In fact isn't it most likely that it's the medicated people whose driving is fine who'll also remember to do the notifying, while the unmedicated people whose driving might be a bit affected will just forget to do it anyway?

[minewouldbeyoug]

Free - Very likely yes there speaks someone either with ADHD or experience of it!.

Advice I had to give though and information service users should be given. I wouldn't be fulfilling my professional responsibility if I didn't tell them!.

[minewouldbeyoug]

Yes I can see the difference. I've said repeatedly that we give the advice to inform and it's up to the person to make the decision.

And the ADHD page on that site has a big heading at the top saying you can be liable for a fine of £1000 if you fail to declare a medical condition that may impair driving.

I'm not saying you legally HAVE to but that the advice is that you should. And not just because you may invalidate your insurance or be liable for a fine but because ADHD can impair your driving.

There have been studies suggesting some people with ADHD have a level of impairment similar to someone who's intoxicated.

It's up to you if you declare it or not. You are not legally obliged to but the advice of specialist Adult ADHD services including the Maudsley clinic is that you should.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

That's fine as long as you are acknowledging that you are encouraging people to over report because it's less risky than under reporting. But that seems to be different to what you were suggesting earlier.

Going back to the OP, since when was ADHD (or anything for that matter) a diagnosis that gets rubber stamped by the DWP. For a start it runs on a social model of disability not a medical one. Secondly, like many conditions, there is a huge difference in the way that it affects different people, which means some will need much more/less help than others. And then there can be differences in how it affects a person over their lifetime which might mean they are able to find new ways of controlling it that will reduce their care needs. Obviously this won't happen for every person which is part of the reason why people are reassessed.

It might be that the OP's son's care needs were assessed as not having significantly changed which was why it was 'rubber stamped', but the idea that it was because ADHD is some sort of protected diagnosis is rubbish.

It isn't at all helpful, and probably quite harmful to lead people making a claim to believe that it is.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Actually, that's a very good point, zzzz. One of my personal bugbears is HCPs treating me like I'm stupid and can't think for myself.

My GP never does it but I've had several other HCPs that have. In this case, tell me the dvla advice, then tell me what you would advise and why.

[minewouldbeyoug]

In what way? That ADHD has been proven to dramatically increase the risk of car accidents and the DVLA consider it to be a condition that can impair driving and may need declaring?. And even though it says 'may' on the site, every single person I have known call the DVLA for further advice on this issue has been told yes, they should declare it and a form is in the post.

So I inform service users of that fact. I'm thinking clearly and given all that info, the service users can too and make their own decision.

Having seen so much research and seeing a couple of hundred of people with ADHD and discussed their driving habits (it's part of a lengthy assessment as is considered so significant in ADHD) - from my experience I think it's a condition that should always be reported and the DVLA will possibly change its advice in the future (it has been suggested by Psychiatrists).

And again, lots of people with ADHD will be attentive and safe drivers. Lots won't. It's an opinion backed up by numerous amounts of research.

[AndNowItsSeven]

Op I find your posts very confusing, but also intriguing. Please come back.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

I think opinion is fine as long as it's presented that way. Presenting your opinion as fact is a bit of an issue. And from mine's 23:15 post I don't think that's what she's doing. She's presenting the official line and her experience of how that works in practice. which is how it should be.

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

minewouldbeyoug

You changed What you were telling people in the space of 4 posts, and you are still giving out misinformation.

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

You went from saying it's a mental health issue you must inform the DVLA.

To saying:

Well, no you don't have to inform them at all, and it's not really classed as a mental health issue, i was lying, but we advise it incase they change their rules in the future.

What you have done is given out a massive bit of misinformation in your original posts, then changed the fact when pulled up on it.

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

ADHD: you might want to inform the DVLA, but it isn't necessary

ASD: If your doctor tells you that it might affect your driving you have to tell the DVLA

Epilepsy / seizures: YOU MUST INFORM THE DVLA!

This is the official advice.

"Hello DVLA, yes i've been driving for 20 year and now have a diagnoses of ADHD, what, yes I did pass my test, but the fact that i've now got the diagnoses does make my driving worse!."

[2catsfighting]

Hi Mick4Jue.

Congratulations on becoming a grandmother. Is your son the Dad?

I was wondering if you had any personal experience of mental health problems? Your posts sound quite excitable, which is totally understandable, but I am left wondering whether you could do with some support yourself?

[Itsdone]

Perhaps apologise, name change and start again.