Guardian article: Some NHS centres twice as likely to diagnose adults as autistic, study finds

There was a scientific study that suggested they could predict autism by scanning the retina. Most people don’t realise it but the retina is technically brain matter.

Amerantin (former member) said:

There is huge overlap between different neurodivergent conditions and with some mental and physical illnesses so it must be difficult to diagnose with just observation and self reporting.

Mental health needs are forms of neurodivergence too!

There is huge overlap between different neurodivergent conditions and with some mental and physical illnesses so it must be difficult to diagnose with just observation and self reporting.

Eventually neuroscientists will figure out the underlying physical reasons (and perhaps pointing some AI at brain scans will give us a solid diagnostic tool). I would not be surprised to discover that ADHD, autism and dyslexia are all facets of the same underlying condition.

I read this earlier on also. It’s hard when autism is essentially a social construct like Brian Deer said. It depends on who’s doing the diagnosis and many other factors. My mum lied and said I showed no signs of autism as a child which wasn’t true as I showed many signs. So I ended up missing out on a diagnosis and help because of her. But luckily I got diagnosed later in life as I did in fact have autism. Sometime they get it wrong and sometimes they get it right like they eventually did in my case. I think my mum just didn’t want to have her child be perceived to be abnormal in anyway because then it would in her mind fall back on her poor parenting and reflect badly on her. Besides she didn’t know a thing about autism and she’s probably autistic herself in my opinion and analysis of her behaviour especially towards me.

Good idea, but it is also really important for us to be identified as autistic by members of our own community.

The breadth and depth of incompetent in the medical community, even among those who claim 'expertise', is bewildering.

Amerantin (former member) said:

We really need to get to the position where autism can be diagnosed by a brain scan.

I think I agree although I'm not sure if that would be infallible.

However, the diagnostic process at the moment seems very fallible, so your suggestion has got to be best I think.

We really need to get to the position where autism can be diagnosed by a brain scan.