Hello, and welcome back to The Autistic Writer. On the 9th of October, the UK saw the publication of the Independent Review into Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism.
The review’s purpose was to examine changes in prevalence of autism, ADHD and mental health problems, and the increased demand for mental health services. It was also intended to explain what might be driving the changes, and recommend how services should respond. The review was chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy, a clinical psychologist and head of UCL’s Division of Psychology and Language Sciences.
Unfortunately, much of the content of the review has been lost on the general public, due to sensationalist and misleading reporting in the news and media. Hysterical headlines have focused on “soaring” rates of autism and ADHD diagnoses, and have fear-mongered over alleged “overdiagnosis”.
In this episode of AFI, I take a long look at the autism side of the Fonagy review, and pay particular attention to the contentious issue of overdiagnosis.
You can watch the video version of the podcast in the player, above, or if you prefer audio-only podcasts, you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible – use the links below.
That’s all for this time. Take care.
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