Wes Streeting's move against autism - NAS - time to step up

I agree Jalapeno, let us know how you you get on raising that after your bonus.

ADHD and autism are neurodevelopmental conditions, not mental health disorders. While people with ADHD or autism may experience mental health difficulties that doesn’t make the underlying condition a mental illness.

Historically, many people were missed, misdiagnosed, or had their difficulties framed purely as anxiety or depression, so increased awareness now is more likely to reflect long-standing underdiagnosis, not sudden overdiagnosis.

Every time we see Autism or ADHD put under Mental Health we need to correct the person or organisation.  That said I think my employer has Autism grouped with Learning Difficulties - I'll wait until my bonus has arrived before raising that one

You have reached the same conclusions that I have Iain 

Glad you got 5 minutes respite, gotta love labrador puppies!

Phased said:

why when people are known to experience harmful gambling addictions is it legal to advertise gambling in such a fashion as is allowed in the UK?

Because gambling companies lobby the government and line their pockets personally. It really is that simple - corruption.

Phased said:

Why are people encouraged to aspire to personally and globally unachievable/unsustainable consumerist expectations?

To maintain the industries that supply to them - the changing of these industries is too complex for the government to manage so they remain hopelessly trying to sustain it and hoping it won't collapse on their watch so they can blame whoever is in power at the time.

Too hard to do = kick the can further down the line.

Phased said:

Why is economic growth seen as the only way for already hugely wealthy sections of society to achieve happiness whilst others starve?

It helps to look at the people controlling the wealth and manufacturing - they have a vested interest in keeping the gravy train going, they have enough money to keep politicians in their pockets and they don't care about the little people affected by it all.

I'm afraid I believe the problems have gone on for far to long, the system gotten too corrupt and the only way it will change is when it falls down, but the fallout from this will be most unpleasant for us all.

On a brighter note, I saw a labrador puppy today and that made me forget about all this rubbish for at least 5 minutes . Gotta take the wins where we find them.

I concur.  Simply asking the question why don't waiting times overall come down might point towards failings to actual help people manage their difficulties perhaps?

Why does a health service in peace time need to employ triage systems that evolved in order to manage war time casualties for example?

An old friend of mine pointed out to me that in some traditions a health care expert was employed predominantly in order to keep the society healthy.  When the society became sick they found a better health care specialist...

The greatest advances in health care came over 150 years ago from improvements in sanitation.

I am of the opinion that in respect of mental health a similar approach to ascertaining where the metaphorically polluted psychological wells are and ensuring people are not forced to drink from them is what is heeded now.

For example why when people are known to experience harmful gambling addictions is it legal to advertise gambling in such a fashion as is allowed in the UK?

Why are people encouraged to aspire to personally and globally unachievable/unsustainable consumerist expectations?

Why is economic growth seen as the only way for already hugely wealthy sections of society to achieve happiness whilst others starve?

There is an interesting discussion article on the subject here:

https://theconversation.com/what-looks-like-overdiagnosis-is-really-a-system-struggling-to-provide-continuous-care-271667

It is well written and informed and comes to a realistic conclusion:

The system is not failing because too many people seek help. It is failing because brief, discrete episodes of care cannot manage long-term, complex needs. Until that changes, debates about overdiagnosis will keep obscuring the real issue: building a mental health system that stays with people, instead of processing them and moving on.

Is this going towards more of an American model you think? 

Politics and money are like infections that corrupt all the services that should work based on running services that work.

• Health services are run like businesses this is the most disturbing aspect because funds are prioritised by managers in local government. I have been a trustee on a health charity and on the patients group at my local go surgery, the patterns are the same, both prioritise profit over service delivery. Truths about poor service delivery, people leaving the service and death are veiled by the way which performance information is presented to the public as an average. This is why gp surgeries and services are merging as this makes their performance seem an average to good rather than poor (because of the numbers if people in their catchment). They know all they have to do to receive more money. Duty of care is being overlooked in favour of the bottom line. This is a conflict of interest which the public are not aware, as it means services are slowly being cut using stealth.

Thanks @DormouseAt Rest25

I'm posting here what I just put of the autsm action f'book page:

https://autismaction.org.uk/press-release/dont-underestimate-the-true-number-of-autistic-people-with-flawed-data-warns-charity/

Various organisations have now been informed by NHS England about the withdrawal / reissue of a key report:

https://www.facebook.com/100064546365581/posts/pfbid0irSSQKqV4V8gEZh1aUHvif4QeGrbdZ9wEBSSFuR4FVoGDQ41SnjgkPyTJuyif7Bl/

LeDeR Report 2023 (published September 2025) - Learning from Lives and Deaths – people with a learning disability and autistic people:

I agree and fear it will get worse with this government.

I don't think finance is as easy to get as it was before the 2008 crash, my parents couldn't get a credit card with a low limit, for use online, because they had no credit history, they had loads of money in the bank, but they had no loans and were mortgage free. Financial difficulties do affect your mental health, how can they not, so many people lost jobs and savings during the covid years and many younger people were disproportionately effected, both socially and educationally.

30 years ago when I was a young persons counsellor we were predicting a huge rise in complex issues in young people, failing services for everybody, I'm only surprised that it's taken this long for the whole mental health care system to collapse this badly. I'm not suprised at the numbers of people on anti=depressants, even children, they're often the only thing a GP can offer knowing that anything else will be met with years and years of waiting, even if they can get on a waiting list. 

I have reflectied of the topic of this post and was reminded so much of the famous poem First They Came.

FIRST THEY CAME
Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -and there was no one left to speak for me.

This is the bastardised English version and not a direct translation from German

Just insert the words mental ill health and disabled and end up with ND

You see where I am going. It is so easy to be deceived by populists.

Its hard enough for people to receive PIP now, let alone the points via pip required to receive the Motability allowance. 

Disabled people driving luxury cars on your dime? Just the latest rightwing lie peddled by Labour | Frances Ryan | The Guardian

Very interesting read. Aligns well with my experience working in a health related profession.

Mobility scheme users pay the cost by forfeiting part of their PIP. I know people who are wheel chair users who brought a Range Rover due to the air suspension and the fact it is a vehicle that could be fitted with a chair lift. They paid the extra cost not the tax payer. Plus the government is cutting back on the Access to work scheme so who are the employers who will pay these extra costs for making reasonable adjustments or providing equipment?  

Actually quite a few autistic people were at the Spring statement demonstration run by DPAC. There were so many people there and groups that I missed saying hello and only spotted them in press pictures. I was also at the Labor conference in October and again, many autistics there too. Of course it is noisy and takes so much out of us but we wanted to stand up to these cuts. I got to meet journalist John Pring who is autistic and runs Disability News Service who covered the protest. So not quite the pushover but I understand your point. 

Having read this first:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-psychiatric-morbidity-survey/survey-of-mental-health-and-wellbeing-england-2023-24/autism-spectrum-disorder

...I would suggest the independent review panel does so too 

www.disabilitynewsservice.com/.../