Awareness of the 'sadness' of autism
NEWS that an initiative is being launched locally to provide additional capacity for the Children’s Autism Diagnostic Service to help address increased demand chimes precisely with national concerns about whether the issue is actually more autism, or overdiagnosis of the condition.
Health & Social Care, unsurprisingly, is struggling to cope with increasing demand for autism and ADHD diagnostic pathways and so is bringing in specialists to undertake additional assessments for the next six months. It’s another area where the committee is powerless to stem the demand.
Its ADHD diagnostic clinic used to see about 20 people a year – last year it was 230. These figures are clearly unsustainable for a small community, yet, as HSC recognises, the delays lead to a stressful time for those struggling to understand their own or their children’s needs, and who probably need appropriate support.
Beyond the issue of whether diagnoses are accurate or warranted, is the sad truth the autistic people often do not lead happy lives. They are more likely to have poor mental and physical health, underachieve in education and employment, and suffer victimisation and social isolation.
This leads some to ask whether the main objective of autism research should be refocused to understand how to help autistic people to lead happier lives. An alternative focus might be to ask how our services could be reshaped to help?