Fear of and Necessity for Labels

AndrewC posted this discussion in the guide, before I realised my mistake in how they were written. So I'm just creating this on his behalf so people can respond to the message.

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I know a number of people are put of going for early diagnosis because they fear labelling their child or are not themselves emotionally ready for that label.

Unfortunately, labels can also be necessary/hugely beneficial in accessing the right support services for your child, particularly re education.

Perhaps this would be a good thread for people to share what their concerns were/are about going for diagnosis, and whether obtaining a diagnosis has been positive or negative overall?

Parents

samueljake over 14 years ago

hi....i too think its great that mental health/support needs of children are high on the agenda.ofcourse this is right and essential.however im also sad that the mental health needs of adults on the spectrum and support for those adults who do not have"carers and families"around them is almost not seen as a reality.
i have spent a long time in the mh system and have seen many high functionning adults unfortunate enough to have been stuck for years on psyche drugs often misdiagnosed and unable to live without support, often from untrained workers in asd.
over time people gradually burnout and give up.i have seen this so many times.many cannot turn to family and any carers know more about schizophrenia and recovery plans than they do about asd.often mental health issues are expressed differently in an adult with asd and this again is not picked by mhealth workers...
in my area i asked the NAS for any help i could access as an adult with asd including housing.i was told there was no housing at all unless i had a learning disability or was under 25.i was directed to rethink!...rethink is an organization that works with severe mental illness.i was actually being moved on from their care as i was deemed as no longer fitting their criteria.
and this is the problem.if you are an adult over 25 ,in parts of the country, with mental health issues...there is literally no where to go...even the NAS is not sure where to direct you.this can only add to the terrible sense of isolation and not fitting in.
mental health issues in adults is a major problem as many sit undiagnosed in longterm psychiatric care being given inappropriate drugs and in stressful inappropriate psychosis orientated supported housing...

Reply

samueljake over 14 years ago

hi....i too think its great that mental health/support needs of children are high on the agenda.ofcourse this is right and essential.however im also sad that the mental health needs of adults on the spectrum and support for those adults who do not have"carers and families"around them is almost not seen as a reality.
i have spent a long time in the mh system and have seen many high functionning adults unfortunate enough to have been stuck for years on psyche drugs often misdiagnosed and unable to live without support, often from untrained workers in asd.
over time people gradually burnout and give up.i have seen this so many times.many cannot turn to family and any carers know more about schizophrenia and recovery plans than they do about asd.often mental health issues are expressed differently in an adult with asd and this again is not picked by mhealth workers...
in my area i asked the NAS for any help i could access as an adult with asd including housing.i was told there was no housing at all unless i had a learning disability or was under 25.i was directed to rethink!...rethink is an organization that works with severe mental illness.i was actually being moved on from their care as i was deemed as no longer fitting their criteria.
and this is the problem.if you are an adult over 25 ,in parts of the country, with mental health issues...there is literally no where to go...even the NAS is not sure where to direct you.this can only add to the terrible sense of isolation and not fitting in.
mental health issues in adults is a major problem as many sit undiagnosed in longterm psychiatric care being given inappropriate drugs and in stressful inappropriate psychosis orientated supported housing...

Children

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