Is Autism too inclusive?!

https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/uta-frith-interview-autism-not-spectrum
(Found one that isn't paid.)

Basically she wants to go back to autism is only diagnosed between 3-5, mostly males, and the rest are basically making it up. 

"It’s understandable, because they listen to the lived experiences of people who say they’ve been masking, that they spend their time imitating what neurotypical people do, and they’re exhausted every day because of this. So, the harm is not the masking, but the exhaustion afterwards. I can’t quite understand that, because exhaustion could arise from lots of other causes.

I expect we could say we are all masking, all the time, trying to adapt to our society’s norms. So, from this point of view, I’m very critical of this idea."

She says there are too many later diagnosed people, so the answer for her is it's not real, and we should go back in time to when it was easier for them to understand.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/uta-frith-interview-autism-not-spectrum
(Found one that isn't paid.)

Basically she wants to go back to autism is only diagnosed between 3-5, mostly males, and the rest are basically making it up. 

"It’s understandable, because they listen to the lived experiences of people who say they’ve been masking, that they spend their time imitating what neurotypical people do, and they’re exhausted every day because of this. So, the harm is not the masking, but the exhaustion afterwards. I can’t quite understand that, because exhaustion could arise from lots of other causes.

I expect we could say we are all masking, all the time, trying to adapt to our society’s norms. So, from this point of view, I’m very critical of this idea."

She says there are too many later diagnosed people, so the answer for her is it's not real, and we should go back in time to when it was easier for them to understand.

Cinnabar_wing said:

Basically she wants to go back to autism is only diagnosed between 3-5, mostly males, and the rest are basically making it up. 

I can't agree that that's what she said. The relevant part of the article was 

"Now, I think the people in the second group [those diagnosed much later than 5 years old] really do have problems. I would definitely not say they are “making it up”. But I would say that these are problems that can perhaps be treated much better than under the label of “autism”. I would fight for that label to be limited to the first group."

To me, she is saying that what's now labeled ASD embraces too wide a range of conditions, with too wide a range of support needs to be under the same umbrella. She's looking at it from the viewpoint of child educators, where the expertise needed for children with profound support needs will be vastly different to those with minimal needs. 

I'm sure I'm not alone amongst the members here in not having received any special support at school. Thinking back, I suspect any benefits I may have gained by getting such support would have been minimal, if any. But the peer pressures for being singled out could have been very damaging. Kids can be vicious creatures - they're all too often bad enough when one of their peers puts in the effort to do well in class. They would be unbearable for the classmate who is identified as needing extra help in class.

Without any such assistance throughout school, I learnt how to fend for myself, how to quietly put in the extra effort to keep up with my more able peers, how to visibly succeed. Had I been told then what I now know, I may have risked giving up because I had an excuse. I probably wouldn't be the fighter that I am today.

So I actually agree with Uta Frith - the autism spectrum is trying to embrace too much. Fixed labels can detract from where the most help is needed and limit progress where it isn't.

Thanks for that link. I have huge sympathy for teachers who are dealing with children with special needs (not just autism), my sister worked full-time as one until 2021, and now does private tuition. But, like much in the education system, the solution is proper funding of the school system. Instead we've had endless tinkering with curriculums, more responsibility loaded onto teachers without any extra time or money, and school inspections that seem to have very little to do with children and a lot to do with justifying closing school or forcing them into for-profit academies. This sounds like more of the same — 'solving' the 'problem' of autism by having fewer kids (and adults) get a diagnosis. I have to wonder if Dame Uta Frith has actually met any autistic children and their families, and if she'd be willing to repeat her viewpoint to their faces.

Thank you for explaining that. My son was only diagnosed at 12. We sensed something different between 3 & 5, but school dismissed it when we later suspected autism. I can't imagine how things would have panned out for him without Autism and ADHD diagnosis. 

I hope she is ignored.

Thanks Cinnabar_wing My intention was not to cause alarm. I just didn't have anyone who I could talk to about it who would actually understand. Thank you for confirming. 

Cinnabar_wing said:

Basically she wants to go back to autism is only diagnosed between 3-5, mostly males, and the rest are basically making it up.

Awful