I’ve just read One in 14 children (or rather their parents) are currently claiming DLA for ADHD or autism.

Primary not Prary!

I think ADHD is much maligned and misunderstood. It’s so much more than about awful behaviour.

I would question these stats too.

My daughter, as you’re aware, is a Prary School teacher in a deprived area. In her class of 34 she has TWO children with “suspected” ADHD, in her opinion one genuinely does meet the criteria, the other is a disruptive aggressive horror!

Thank you for your sensible post, Iam64.
I totally changed my views, when teaching in an area of high social deprivation.
So much so, that I started studying for additional qualifications
to support children, who could not cope in mainstream and were totally disengaged from/ or unable to engage in learning.
I can assure you that these conditions do exist. Not all parents are scroungers, using so called bad behaviour to obtain benefits.

My daughter suffers from dyslexia, it is a genuine condition, not a fad.

I wouldn’t was to return to ADHD dismissed because ‘he’s a 7 year old lad, what do you expect, course he never sits still’.
I worked in CAMHS about 20 years ago, when diagnosis of autism and ADHD was less frequent. I arrived not a believer in ADD, I put the emotional and behavioural problems down to attachment, chaotic home lives etc. Six weeks after shadowing the psychiatrist who specialised in these children, reading the research he recommended, I began to feel I’d been wrong, that ADHD is a serious problem that can cause children to be excluded from school, impairs their ability to learn and is exhausting for parents.
I’m out of date with what evidence parents have to produce to get additional benefits. In our area, educational psychologists or CAMHS are rare. Psychologists don’t usually diagnose ADHD before the child is 7.
I do know how hard it is to get benefits but I also know of individuals who help people tick the right boxes, use the right words in order to put in a claim that may succeed.

Well, I would say this all shows how poor understanding is of Autism and ADHD as well as other conditions. Many have a strong hereditary link. Which shows that society will become more neurodiverse over time. With something simple like dyslexia, if one parent is dyslexic resulting children have a 50% chance of inheriting. Both and the outcome is almost certain. Back in my day many children were just pushed into remedial classes and tagged as needing extra support but there was little knowledge or education as to why. Many in my generation have poor reading and writing skills or other cognitive issues and have gone into manual work with skills instead. Now children are expected to stay in school and have a right to an education children "show up" more where extra support is needed. Of course more people will be diagnosed now that they understand these conditions and of course that includes adults. Many of those adults have gone through life with depression and anxiety trying desperately to hide quirks and fit in. The amount of financial support offered highly depends on the diagnosis of highly trained professionals and the amount recieving that support is likely low given my experience of working in mental health. Unfortunately many adults still feel bullied and belittled by their peers rather than supported. I think that is what is really rather shocking, don't you?

One of our gd has diagnosed autism in her area no school can meet her needs, a nightmare for her parents she is home schooled at the moment . They don't get help financially.Please don't think everyone is the same ,this is one club they wish they wasn't in.

I am autistic but I get a lot of support.
One of my support workers told me that they have ADHD, but I can’t believe it because if they did I’m sure they would have lost their job.
The criteria for autism and adhd has become so broad and up to interpretation that it has lost all meaning. This will impact those who genuinely have these conditions.
There are a lot of inconsistencies in these cases. I don’t think that the diagnostic process is sturdy enough. It’s shown that other conditions can mimic autistic symptoms.

A Special Needs teacher of my acquaintance was put under a great deal of pressure by one set of parents to help categorize their child with ADHD. The mother's rationale was that it would make a big difference to them financially, apparently about £200 a month. What on earth can you do about people with such warped priorities? (She refused)

I see Nadine Dorries has declared herself a sufferer of ADHD (diagnosed by her daughter). Not doubt looking for an excuse for her febrile attachment to Boris Johnson.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I completely agree with you ViceVersa on all aspects of genuine need there’s no doubt it should not only be there, but generous. These families need all the help they can get. Maybe if we could find a way to cull the benefits to the chancers then we would all be happier about the welfare state.

Surely there’s someone somewhere with the brains to tackle this blatant culture of supposed entitlement?

There has to be a way. I've honestly no idea how so many 'chancers' manage to claim benefits though, because I've seen at first hand how difficult it can be to claim when you do have a genuine entitlement. We had to jump through hoops to get the Attendance Allowance for my in-laws, which they both genuinely needed.

I completely agree with you ViceVersa on all aspects of genuine need there’s no doubt it should not only be there, but generous. These families need all the help they can get. Maybe if we could find a way to cull the benefits to the chancers then we would all be happier about the welfare state.

Surely there’s someone somewhere with the brains to tackle this blatant culture of supposed entitlement?

Is anybody just "neuro?"

It used to be dyslexia, then ADHD, Asperger’s. Now it’s autism or neurodiversity. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases it’s lazy parenting. If a child isn’t diagnosed by the NHS parents go to private companies who do diagnose something. The parents then use this to make excuses for poor behaviour. They then clog up the system so they can get an EHCP and extra support for their child. Meanwhile those that genuinely need the help are labelled with the same brush.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I don’t know ViceVersa but there’s got to be a way! Surely it would end up being self funding to weed the (many) scroungers out? While some young people have “genuine problems”, Mr. Ebenezer suspects plenty don’t. The problem, he says, is the way “we now hide behind labels”....spot on.

I agree that there should be a way - I'm just not sure what that way is. Yes, there are some parents who actively seek a 'label' for their child for various reasons, but there are also parents struggling to get their child properly assessed and diagnosed so they can get the help (and I'm not just talking about financial help) that the child genuinely needs.

Sticking a label on a child apart from claiming benefit it gives some parents the feeling to say not my fault or possibly what are the school going to do about it instead of trying to help their child
Similarly we allow pets in our holiday cottages and these days it is quite unusual to meet a dog that the owners don’t say is a rescue. Not saying this is necessarily problem dogs

Me neither uttb.

I don’t know ViceVersa but there’s got to be a way! Surely it would end up being self funding to weed the (many) scroungers out? While some young people have “genuine problems”, Mr. Ebenezer suspects plenty don’t. The problem, he says, is the way “we now hide behind labels”....spot on.

I know people who can twist anything to beat the system.
They should have degrees in it.
They come from families who pass the knowledge on.
Disabled and ill children are easy to recognise and deserve help.
I am not talking about them here.

I get what is being said here, but having worked with children with ASN, you can't tar all these parents with the same brush. Yes, there will also be some who will try to 'game the system', but there are many who are genuinely struggling to cope with their child's additional needs. How do you weed out the genuine cases from the 'scroungers'?

Too many labels attached to people now. Strange how we all got by years ago without ADHD etc.
I think too many are just energetic and wilful children whose parents don't know how to cope with and a label makes them feel better.
I know there are children with genuine problems but there seems to be a large proportion now with mental health issues.

I think we on here would ALL support ‘genuine need’ in a heartbeat.
Of course.

Agree Allsorts.

Alun Ebeneezer (Head teacher in Wales) and Katharine Birbalsingh are both cut from the same cloth, or rather, cut from the same granite. All power to them.

I think we on here would ALL support ‘genuine need’ in a heartbeat.

It’s the scroungers I can’t stand. Those who game the system.
We all know it goes on!

You can’t defend the indefensible.

That seems a bit steep to me? Crazy.
Do parents spend their lives looking for labels for their children? Personally, irrespective of the benefits, I don't like it.

It’s gone mad. Every one has someone in the family with some sort of ism or question about gender. It has never been b so bad as it is now. If I were starting out in life, children would not be for me. You get a few wonderful early years and thats it. Teachers should never be assaulted, how would you feel if it were your son or daughter. I worry enough for my grandchildren and they are all grown up and none of them have said they want children and its their decision but all of have said never consider having a child as a single person,