I’ve added the BBC link, the article is being updated constantly.
I’ve added the BBC link, the article is being updated constantly.
Just push through the stress to achieve more, that seems a very Thatcherite phrase to me? I agree that the socio-economic process is broken and I believe it has been for years, work hard and you'll be rewarded, yeah right, when has that ever been true? It might have been true for the lucky few who then get help up as examples to the rest of us to stop moaning and pull our socks up, I'm not sure its true for anyone now though.
There's another element I wish to add to this debate and that is pollution. Since the end of WW2 there been a national imperative to produce plenty of cheap food, understandable after coming out of rationing, but there was also an increase in the numbers of chemicals added to enable farmers to grow all this food. Now everything is polluted, from the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. Then we add to it with the chemical we use to keep ourselves, our homes and our clothes clean. We live in a chemical soup, now all these chemicals may have been tested individually and been found harmless or mostly harmless, but nobodies ever looked at their collective effect.
Given this, I wonder why nobodies looking into it, we know that there are so many oestrogen mimics in the environment that its effecting sperm counts, across species, world wide. We have a couple of generations now who've grown up and had their own children surrounded unwittingly by this chemical soup, why do we not think this might have an impact on brain development? I'm not saying this is the cause or even main cause of ND, but I think it's something we should consider, if there really is a rise and not a correction in diagnosis.
From the executive summery of the report:
" Recommendation 1
Tackle the drivers of mental distress and ill health through an ambitious approach to prevention, early intervention and improving public mental health and wellbeing."
This is the first of 10 recommendations...
The UK isn't just approaching the tipping point of a failing socio-economic system; it is living through the friction of it. The old performative paradigm of "push through the stress to achieve more" is failing to hold the workforce together, resulting in an estimated £300 billion annual cost to the economy due to mental ill-health. source: post.parliament.uk/.../
I read from the BBC article that a prominent politician has said: "people worked out how to game the system"
Ironic that, coming from a politician. I think politics is a career that seems to me to select and specifically reward people with that skill set. Playing games is exactly how they achieve their success it seems to me.
I am drawn to wish to vent about the sheer absurdity of the situation.
It takes very few people to cause madness because fear and compliance are easy to automate through rules. The rules of the game are constantly being rewritten by a select few so that they can never lose.
The current socio-economic system is broken and mental ill health is the most obvious indicator of it as far as i can ascertain.
I hope that it takes an equally small number of people to break the spell. When a small group of people stop playing the game, speak the truth plainly, and protect one another, they expose the performative system for what it is: an illusion.
Personally I would recommend a focus entirely on local, tangible acts of sanity (like protecting one's immediate circle) -
herein: we're all here as in my opinion somewhat victims of the situation and I believe that we should speak the truth of our experience, this is a safe zone where the performative games don't apply, if everyone walks off the field of play of the games that the BBC report and can get stuck in to doing things of real worth and quality then that'll starve the fuel of the game that the rule makers want to play with us...
I should also clarify that my retail experience was in a garden centre outdoors which was not too stimulating
Oh that makes a lot of sense! I forgot that my boss once mentioned that garden centers tend to be awesome gigs, but unfortunately my state doesn’t support me helping with garden center jobs since they tend to be seasonal. I have to find people year-round work, since the state sees that as more stable. Retail’s overall been a mixed bag in my experience. Stocking seems to be usually okay for folks with disabilities, but unfortunately so many people want to stock that retailers around here only allow veteran workers to take those positions. Also, it’s becoming grossly common for smaller retailers to REQUIRE cashier work even for stockers and cleaners. Most of my clients can’t count money at all or at least are terrified of messing up at a register.
In interviews now I never disclose my disability, they don't have a legal right to know if i am correct.
Yeah, that is a very valid decision. I tend to always disclose, particularly if I feel comfortable with the interviewers, but that’s not necessarily the right answer. Even though it is illegal to not hire someone due to a disability (at least here in America), it is so easy for an employer to hide their ableism and make it impossible to prove they didn’t hire you because of it.
I guess my personal opinion is that if they don’t want me to work their due to my Autism, then I obviously wouldn’t be happy or comfortable there anyways.
Just a note that the report only covers England. The graphs in the last link indicate that ADHD has increased substantially in older adults over the last 5 years, although autism has not increased by anything like the same levels..
I agree with what Prof Fonaghy said that people need help when need it, not have to wait for years for a diagnosis to get any.
I wonder how many of today's "NEETs" with autism or a mental health issue more broadly have been failed by CAHMS in the 2010s during their school days?
I do worry though that even with PIP cuts or whatever, these people will not be supported into work but just left to rely on their parents.
I understand what you mean about retail, I should also clarify that my retail experience was in a garden centre outdoors which was not too stimulating. My own personal worst is hospitality, I had to leave soon after I started.
I think Alan Millburn did allude to what you are saying a few months back that we don't really spend a great deal on helping people (including SEND adults) get into work.
It's depressing you mention how unhelpful your local warehouses are. I have been told similar around employers in this area. In interviews now I never disclose my disability, they don't have a legal right to know if i am correct.
To be honest there just seems to be so little work at the moment. Even on Indeed and Reed there does not seem huge amounts within a 45 minute radius of my area.
I have heard good things about the civil service, the NHS too I have heard is quite accommodating.
However it can be really quite tough to get into the public sector, I remember doing a form about two years ago for a position in the local council. I felt it was quite exclusionary in terms of being geared towards those already in the system. It took me around four hours to complete.
Oh that is good to know that there are still some areas which are helpful for those with autism.
I read the BMJ article from this report and they said there the population rates have remained quite stable for autism and ADHD. They also said that over diagnosis and misdiagnosis is currently not a wide scale problem. I know it has always been there. It is at the point though where this could change to be more problematic so it needs to be addressed.
Prevalence rates had increased and more support before the diagnosis stage is necessary.
It seems like the rates for late diagnosed had hardly increased from the graphs.
I will be of pension age in 3 years and I'd be quite happy for the triple lock to go and for there to be a double lock of 2.5% or inflation if its higher than 2.5%. I know theres still a lot of pensioners living in poverty, but theres a lot more who aren't and are fit and healthy and on good final salary workplace pensions.
I tried to get PIP and didn't have nearly enough points in each catagory, I didn't have enough points in any catagory. It's a really confusing system that I dont' really think is fit for purpose. As with many other benefits I dont' know how people manage to get the ones they do and at a high rate, most people, myself included struggle to get what the state says we're entitled too.
I think many ND people would love to have a job, but there are either no jobs to be had, or employers make things difficult. The government make it difficult for people to be self employed too, the tax system can be hard to navigate, almost everyone is having to VAT register now which puts prices up and they're having to VAT register because prices have gone up and and the amount you can earn before paying tax has remained the same. The whole system from banks, advisors to government seem to think that everyone will be setting up a shop or light industrial unit, employing others and making a profit from day one. Being a sole trader isn't understood at all, they don't see that you have overheads like training, insurance, equipment etc. The other thing with being self employed is no sickness benefit, so if you're in slightly dodgy health or even fall off a ladder, thats it no money coming in. You pretty much have to declare yourself bankrupt, which in itself costs hundreds, to be able to get any help at all.
To be honest I dont' think its just about money, I think its a genuine shock to many at the numbers of young people who are suffering. When I was counselling 30 years ago, we were saying then that there was a mental health crisis among the young coming down the track, espcially among young men. I'm only surprised that its taken this long to recognise it. And of course many of the people who are ND deniers are the ones who were either inadaquately supported when they were young or things like Autism genuinely didn't exist. In may life time I've seen so many changes to the things we recognise as educational mental health issues and ND that were never thought of when I was a young woman, let alone when I was at school.
I think older people have always thought the young have it easy and ought to be grateful, otherwise why else would there be the saying, 'school days are the best days of your life', when for so many they are and were torture.
I was reading about the idea of raising the pension age to 69, most men of that generation will probably live another 10 years. The pension age was 65 for men when I started paying in to the system. For women it is worse, they used to retire at 60.
I often wonder what governments think happens to autistic children?
They seem to think there is a high probability of us growing to be a net liability to the state.
Only 20% of autistic adults work I believe so 80% are not contributing income taxes / NI, we probably don't consume much so are not paying much tax / VAT and have a fairly high rate (relative to NTs) of being on benefits because of our issues.
I suspect they want to reduce the numbers who can use a diagnosis to support PIP claims etc so will push to reduce the ability to get diagnosed.
Pensioners are probably the biggest net cost to the state and the government are formulating ways to strip back the money they get and if they go after this vulnerable group then NDs seem fair game.
Just my suspicions.
My view of how this will all play out is, more teens will be pushed down the “you’re just anxious and depressed, here’s some antidepressants and come back in six months, also sorry you’re not diagnosed with autism or ADHD so you’re not entitled to any financial help (ie PIP).”
The view is they are just anxious because of lockdowns.
Young children with high needs will be fast tracked, personally i think this will help many before they start any sort of schooling. Their parents hopefully won’t have a constant battle on their hands.
Regulation of private providers will be tightened up, the aim will be to bring down the number of positive diagnoses, this will then overload the NHS even further.
Sorry to sound cynical but everything always comes down to cost, the government knows that with rising numbers of people being diagnosed, the welfare cost will keep rising.
Also this is only a review in England, if other parts of the UK see a potential saving, they will follow.
I worked in the civil service all my life, which had excellent protection for diversity plus rules for every role. It wasn't perfect, but it was a safe environment for me. I also worked with figures and that sort of work (including investigation and mechanics/engineering or IT) seem to be popular with autistic people I know personally.
But I take your point about many entry=level or low-level jobs decreasing.
(Lol, I just remembered a funny story that could have led to bullying. There was this elderly far-right lady that worked at my factory that caught me reading Silberman’s NeuroTribes. She asked if it explains how vaccines cause Autism (as you know, it explains where that anti-vax phenomenon came from), which I just brushed off by saying “I don’t know, I just started reading it.” and she responded “Oh, okay. Well let me know if it does!” She was certainly not intelligent enough to put two-and-two together and figure out that I own the book because I have Autism.)
I've worked in warehouses and factories and didn't find them particularly safe places with a lot of bullying and sexual harrasment
Ohhh that’s a good point. I was lucky to have worked at a factory where there seemed to be no sexual harassment going around (at least, none I was aware of) since we were a well-blended company demographics-wise, but there was definitely bullying. I remember one guy was relentlessly picked on for being a trans male (he wasn’t, he had feminine features due to complications from a brain surgery. Disgusting situation overall) and I felt bullied for a short time after calling someone out for not following forklift rules. There was a good reason why I only admitted my diagnosis to a handful of trusted coworkers in that workplace.
In short, I agree, factories/warehouses can be unsafe environments. My argument is that the tasks inside these locations are generally Autism-friendly, so if employers would make a better effort to combat bullying/abuse it would be much more accessible.
In the UK, employers think being disabled friendly is making things easy for wheelchair users and they can't cope with the walking wounded, or those of us with mixed disabilities.
I've worked in warehouses and factories and didn't find them particularly safe places with a lot of bullying and sexual harrasment, I think those who are bullies and sex pests would be more likely to pick on an ND person, feeling that people would be less likely to believe an ND person and I suspect they'd be right to. Many of these places have no unions either, so theres even less support.
It's difficult to assess, as Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own separate NHS. Also, Scotland partly self-funds via Scottish taxation, which differs from the other three countries, and gives it some autonomy in spending.
I work with adults that have been officially diagnosed with disabilities of all types. I agree with your statement. I think creating jobs specifically accessible for persons with disabilities should be something industries and governments should be more worried about, rather than fretting over the concept of over-diagnosis. If it’s true that we are getting a huge influx of disabilities diagnosed, then wouldn’t it make sense to utilize that demographic in the workforce?
I’m not as convinced retail is a generally safe environment for folks with disabilities (particularly thinking of Autism, though), but I completely agree that cleaning and warehouses are HUGE for us with disabilities. Low social pressure, repetitive tasks, and usually close support from supervisors make those two generally good fits for those with Autism in particular. I’m lucky to have a local custodial employer who is very willing to work with my clients, but despite the fact that we have like five or so warehouses/factories in this town NONE of them are willing to assist these disabled clients to get quality work.
I believe employers and governments could do more to encourage us to work rather than solely rely on government-funded social services since all the options for jobs out there are not disability friendly at all.
(Note: I’m not saying that relying social services are not acceptable nor am I inferring that all individuals with disabilities should be working. I am merely suggesting that more safe opportunities in workplaces could lead to less reliance on social services overall.)
