All true Although Obesity across the board is way higher than it was Fast food and ultra processed foods are a massive problem
There was a kid at our school who was a bit weird - you know the thing, everyone said he had fleas, smelt of wee, was a bit intense and always picked last for the football teams at playtime. Anyway, last I heard of him he was a space mapper for NASA.
Diagnosis has increased because diagnosis has improved, what were the mad lunatics almost certainly had ADHD and what were the weird kids were probably on the spectrum, undiagnosed, there's an iceberg of undiagnosed high functioning autistic adults who have had good careers and got through life by masking and denying their slightly odd ASD tendencies and thought processes. We possibly over diagnose it now?
It's highly probable that a significant number of the paradigm shifts in human understanding where made by people who would nowadays be diagnosed as neurodivergent. That's your Galileo's and Newton's and Einstein's probably on the spectrum. You don't look at the world differently unless you look differently at the world. Or summut.
that's because many children back in the seventies / eighties weren't diagnosed as being autistic - the spectrum has been widened massively to include significantly higher numbers with significantly fewer symptoms, such that people describe themselves as being ' autistic' when they are nothing of the sort - if it carries on like this we'll all be classified as being autistic in 50 years
And because of this the genuine cases that require help no longer get the help they need. See mental health for a further example of how people have seen an opportunity to excuse their actions. Bad parents now play the autism/adhd card and the kids that are genuine and really need that help can't get it due to the sheer numbers. Around 10 years ago I was found sat with my legs over the side of the Humber bridge ready to kill myself. I'd had a voice in my head for a while and subsequently was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. The team I worked with were fantastic and they unlocked things inside of me that came rushing back like watching a movie. I was abused as a child by my mother and they were able to help me move forward with the explanation that the feeling of worthlessness and not trusting people was down to years of beatings from being a toddler to a teenager. I was given prozac but after a few months I was like a zombie so I stopped taking all medication and decided to seek alternative therapies. I tell you this to quantify my experience with mental health and my belief that a fair few people ive spoken to who claim to have mental health issues are using it as an excuse for their behaviours. Claiming PIP has become the new 'bad back' as there is no real way of proving someone is not suffering with mental health issues. And teachers I've spoken to tend to agree that many parents claiming their kids have behavioural issues are not suitable to be parents. They've created the monster and then want to blame the kids mental state for their problems. It stinks. Kids need love and nurturing from an early age. Read to them, play games with them, teach them right from wrong. If you go out for a meal or on a train sit and talk to them, play games, do a quiz. My kids are being raised with the love I never got and the results are there for anyone to see. Two very well mannered and socially engaging children and nobody will convince me that shoving an ipad in a kids face, train, restaurant or otherwise is a positive thing. Shove a book in their face or better still engage them for Christ's sake. They're your responsibility.
I understand your point of view and your honesty is admirable. And I accept that behavioural problems are largely the responsibility of parents. But autism is a neurological condition - you can't fake it anymore than you can fake cancer. It can be misdiagnosed though. There's no textbook to being a parent and some need more help than others and need help with themselves. I don't see it that they're taking help from those that need it, anymore than those with diabetes are taking help from those with heart issues, for example. Just that the funding and support for helping families that need help is not enough for what society needs at this moment in time. It's a difficult subject.
I didn't make the point very well as typing on a phone. My link to bad parenting, and from what I can gather, is that the early introductions of ipads and other tablet devices for long periods of time, shoved in front of a TV and being fed processed muck from a very early age, couple with a sever lack of social engagement, exercise and educational activities leads to children having a whole range of issues that, as chazz has pointed out, seem to be just diagnosed or 'palmed off' as autism or ADHD.
I liked your honest replay Jim, but who can define bad parenting when being shoved in front of screens today is no different from being shoved out the door for getting under your Mams feet and told to go out to play, all f**king day! a generation or so ago? I often observe parents with obviously handicapped or neurodivergent children who appear calm, professional, affluent etc, and likewise poor chavs with mucky bains as fit as butchers dogs, it can be indescrimate for God sake and tragic for all parents!
To be fair mate I didn't say it was a class thing. Parents from all levels see devices as a quick and easy way to shut their kids up and give them time to have another gin and tonic. I take your point about kicking them out but didn't that give us exercise, teach us life skills (avoiding bigger kids, learning to behave around adults, lots of playing sport) as opposed to watching you tube videos of a guy in America opening bottles of prime and rating them out of 10? I was on a train to London and watched a kid opposite watch that ****e for over half an hour whilst his mother was on her phone scrolling through Instagram. People will think I'm am arsehole, and if they do fair play that's their opinion, but having grown up in a loveless family being treat like a dog im confident in saying all kids want is love and attention. The rest is all stuff we introduce to them and they get addicted to. If you give them too much of it the problems start. Kids don't know what you tube, Netflix, ipads, consoles etc are unless you give them one. If you hold out until primary school age when their mates tell them about it they are already probably strong enough to understand the reason for small doses. My kids didn't see that stuff until primary school age and I'm proud of the way they have turned out. Very proud. I'm very lucky, I married someone who was raised very well and she has shown me how to parent our kids and provide a loving family environment. I didn't know because I'd been given a horrible upbringing. I've no doubt there are many in the same situation who were not fortunate to meet someone who was able to educate them on the need for love in every family. Love is all you need, peace out I'm off to a wedding now
Very fair Jim, maybe don't be too judgemental of strangers on trains that's all, they are only passing time on public transport and may well be heading for exciting stimulating family leisure activities in London?
But don’t you think if they’re on a train Look out the window Use your imagination when seeing houses people flashing by?? Christ I still do it now when driving somewhere different
Reading Jim the Tigers posts and realising my childhood was pretty good by comparison and along comes.... Hey ho, yea, goat friskiness. Only on this board.
There are a lot of adults getting diagnosed now with neuro diverse conditions. Our daughter for one was recently diagnosed with ADHD at 36. She certainly didn’t have any devices until she was well into her teens (as was the way back then). I think overall, she found her own way of managing it, without actually realising. I was really surprised because I spent my career working with troubled and troublesome kids. Those who were diagnosed with ADHD back in the day, stood out because generally they were absolute live wires. They were a frigging nightmare to look after, just constantly bouncing off the ceilings, until they were pumped up full of Ritalin and then reduced to ‘zombies’ These were older teenagers and was really sad to see. So In some ways, I think maybe it was a blessing it wasn’t picked up for my daughter. Overall she found a way to manage it, and has done very well without any intervention. There has always been a lot of controversy over the diagnosis, I know when I first started my career, there was a thought that ADHD was not a real diagnosis and that it was created by drug companies to make money. Throughout my working life, parents who claimed their kids had ADHD, were often dismissed as wanting an excuse because they couldn’t control their kids. And they couldn’t even get an assessment. So, I don’t think there’s any evidence to show that more kids have ADHD, just a greater understanding of neuro diverse conditions, so more are getting more assessed (albeit having to wait a long time). Apparently there is a definite hereditary link to ADHD, and every populist survey I have managed to fully complete suggest I’ve got it too. My other daughter, who works in mental health (and persuaded her sister to get assessed) is convinced I have it too. She cites my not been able to sit and do one thing (without a drink in my hand), having to have numerous projects on the go but reluctant to complete any of them, getting bored very quickly as evidenced. I was always hopeless at listening to verbal lectures or instruction. My response is that I picked up these habits from my dad, to which she will suggest he maybe had it too. On reflection, she is absolutely right. He died in a nursing home (late 80’s) allegedly peacefully. A cleaner let it slip that she’d seen him bouncing on the bed and climbing on the windowsill, and pulling the curtains down just prior to him passing. Maybe a last attempt to bounce off the ceiling? I am intrigued and have said I will do the online assessment… someday. Oh and the only devices I had were sporting equipment bats, balls, pads etc. I was attached to them (the only things I ever really focussed on for any length of time). Not sure about my dad though! edit.. and like many of my posts, I have revisited and edited several times, because I don’t like to totally complete a task (which allegedly is another indicator)
