Review of the National Autism Strategy ‘Think Autism': call for evidence

[ByGrabtharsHammarWhatASaving]

Might be a good chance for anyone here who has or works with children with ASD to raise concerns about the NAS, the links between ASD and GID, and concerns in general about the effect of trans teaching in schools on children with ASD.

You have been dismissive and belittling. (You dismissed what I said despite it being a fact!)

Because when you dismiss actually autistic people, tell us we're wrong and deny our experiences are valid or relevant, you have no right to comment. Because you are not concerned or interested in anything autistic people have to say unless it fits your very narrow view.

You're part of the problem.

Can we ask why my concern for this group within a group is wrong?

Nobody said it was, you have specifically been told that numerous times. We are talking about the undiagnosed and increasing the assessment resources to cater to them. They have no support and no resources yet, as undiagnosed people. The issue people have with you, is your attitude towards these people.

Even the issue around the autism rates going up is affected by having older people out there who are not assessed and are possibly and probably many of them, autistic. Have the rates gone up? Or are there undiagnosed adults out there, which could give us more information about autism in our communities in the past, and if indeed the figures have increased or not.

You dismissed what I said despite it being a fact!
What exactly?

Itwouldtakemuchmorethanthis that you'd been dismissive and belittling! Which you instantly dismissed without considering how fucking awful your posts have been on this thread!

Every "fact" or statistic you've come up with has been lifted straight from Wikipedia, you are literally the only person in 12 years I've encountered saying their child managed to get adequate support despite no dx (3 ASN schools, 1 mainstream with Senco and my field of work) and you are utterly determined to tell all of the posters on here that we and our experiences are wrong.

Arrogant beyond belief.

I’m fairly limited in what I can provide beyond googling InTheHeatOfLisbon with the best will in the world I can’t commit to serious research on every point. What I was trying to do was provide better written less partisan links. If someone states something that you know can’t be true because you’ve seen it, are you suggesting that the only response that is acceptable is to nod and agree? Most people would respond with, in my experience that’s not how it works.
Which area of the country do you live in that doesn’t provide support based on need?

Most people would respond with, in my experience that’s not how it works.

That's not what you've said. You've said we're lying, we're wrong, that it's not true, that it's a requirement (it isn't).

I’m in London.

I'm Lanarkshire and have got all 3 of my children through the system of DX, support and adjustments put in place in each stage of their lives. BECAUSE they are diagnosed. Support was not available before that otherwise any twat could decide their child "needed" support and use up valuable resources.

I said lots of support is available without dx. I didn’t say all.

Off the top of my head we had, 1:1 Ta, modified start and end of school day, CIT, EP, OT, SALT, desk in a safe space, support with toileting, modified curriculum, EHCP (though dx arrived very soon afterwards), swimming teacher support, writing slope, wobble cushion, footrest, pengrips, community dentist... not all of these came without pushing.

Again, your experience, which nobody has denied. Stop denying all the people here saying it’s not that way for others. You got lucky.

You assume (and indeed insist) that that is the case universally, which just isn't true.

It's great that that support was available for your DC.

But your continued insistence that it's the same everywhere is really getting on my nerves.

Because you've been told, numerous times, by people who have lived it, that it isn't.

And you keep telling us we're wrong or lying or mistaken.

Fucking stop it.

Did I say someone was lying?!. I don’t think I did but unless they were lying about me how would I know?

Or do you mean saying it’s not true that you need dx before x,y or z ? Because my assumption was they didn’t understand or had been misinformed not they were telling a deliberate falsehood.

The RULES are the same everywhere. They are not universally followed.

And so we start again. I have NOT denied anyone else’s experience, what I did was say this statement of fact is not correct, this is how it is supposed to work and definitely has worked because I have witnessed it.

Can you link me to these rules. What rules? Who created them? Who has to follow them?

There are no rules.

Why can't you understand this?

There are laws and there are local authority policies.

Neither cover the situation you describe.

You could read something like this

www.ipsea.org.uk/faqs/what-does-sen-support-in-school-mean

I'm in Scotland, that doesn't apply.

It is so easy, based on what I’ve just read and the way it’s worded, for schools and local authority’s to still limit or avoid providing help, particularly if the child does well academically. It’s also very easy to delay it, as ours did, with endless meetings ( which often focus on ‘what’s going on at home’ rather than what support is at school ) to try and determine ‘ what’s wrong’. CAMHS is known to be completely overburdened so their resources, including guidance for schools, goes to diagnosed children first, as you’d expect. With all those who need it gaining an assessment sooner and the predicted outcome being more diagnosed autistic people, then the LA’s have figures to base their budgets and proposals on.

But wait one moment... did you forget the discussion started and indeed continued talking about undiagnosed adults in particular. What provision is there for adults without a diagnosis to get autism specific support, within their community or at work?

At work I think OT and HR can help with accommodations. I don’t know much about it, because obviously people share as much as they’re comfortable with, but I know a couple of adult women who have taken that route.

As I said, that required a diagnosis.
And awareness of how autism affects people.

Yes, again, only with a diagnosis.

So you don’t know much about it, but this entire time we’ve been talking about the undiagnosed adults in particular and you’ve continued to repeatedly assert that you didn’t need a diagnosis to access support and resources.

I imagine we were discussing what concerned us individually about the current situation, given the thread is about “Think Autism”. I imagine OP wanted to talk about the large number of autistic children who feel they want to “transition” and why that is and people’s concerns. What I fail to understand is your upset at my concerns being different to yours, your insistence that only diagnosis can bring support, and your endless insistence that I know nothing about autism. I have no idea what your experience of autism is, but my experience is interacting with you has basically confirmed my impression that autistics with LD(LFA) are not benefiting in any way from the change in diagnostic criteria and there is no real intent to consider their needs.

Jan
”Why does the term high functioning autism hold such currency when it's no use at all?”
Jessica
Why indeed. Nowhere in our assessment is there anything about IQ levels so I’m not sure why it keeps being repeated here as part of diagnosis.

Autistics who can’t communicate verbally obviously DO understand why their support workers need to know if they have a LD or not and what the impact of them not knowing might be.