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Is Autism too inclusive?!

Mads

I caught the tail end of a discussion on the radio last night. It was (I think) regarding Professor Dame Uta Frith.

“The spectrum has gone on being more and more accommodating, and I think now it has come to its collapse,” said Professor Dame Uta Frith (UCL Cognitive Neuroscience) on the widening autism spectrum and the growing challenges in diagnosis.

I haven't got a definitive reference but there are online newspapers that have the story (I just don't want to sign up to them to read the full article).

All thoughts welcome. 

Joey. 

Parents

  • 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.

  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing

    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. Anger 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.

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  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing

    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. Anger 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.

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