Is your child about to move to secondary school?
As the end of primary school nears, the move to secondary school can be daunting for any child, but especially for autistic children and their parents. Learn More
Why are waiting lists for Autism assessments so long?
There is increasing evidence that waiting times for Autism assessments in the UK are growing. Some areas have simply had to close their waiting lists because they have no realistic way of meeting the current need. So, what is driving this rise in referrals? I have spent some time looking at the current evidence, and will attempt to summarise why this seems to be happening. Learn More
Autism – The tragedy of the missed and misdiagnosed
Blog updated 10th April 2024 The inspiration for this blog article came from three separate directions. First, I have noticed on many Facebook group forums that young girls have not been given a diagnosis because ‘they don’t meet the Part B criteria of the DSM 5’ or that they have never even reached the point of being assessed because they ‘seem too sociable’, display empathy, or make...Learn More
Autism, Personality Disorder: Misdiagnosis and Stigma
Over the past twelve months , I have been writing another book, along with several very helpful contributors who have been kind enough to share their stories with me. Learn More
When parents disagree over the need for an assessment
Parents disagreeing about the need for exploration/identification of Autism in a child or young person, is possibly one of the most frustrating and anxiety provoking situations that diagnosing clinicians face. It is inevitable that parents will have different styles of parenting, often based upon their own experiences and family influences. It is also sadly inevitable that couples do...Learn More
The impact of COVID 19 lockdowns on children
The impact of COVID 19 lockdowns on children’s development and the early identification of possible Autism. As a company, we have not historically tended to assess children under the age of four for possible Autism. The reason for this was because, in the past, very small children with developmental or speech delay tended to be identified at their regular Health Visitor checks and would...Learn More
Diagnostic concerns and revisions to the DSM 5
Since the launch in March 2022 of the updated DSM-5 (now known as the DSM-5-TR), we have received a number of enquiries from people concerned about changes to the DSM-5 Autism diagnostic criteria. For those who are not aware, the DSM, (which stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), is the guideline where the criteria for diagnosing Autism are written down. The DSM is...Learn More
Back to school for children with PDA … five years on
Article Updated – September 2022 Since this article was first written in 2017 we have published two journal articles related to PDA. The first is titled “Modification of the Coventry Grid Interview (Flackhill et al, 2017) to include the Pathological Demand Avoidant profile” The second is titled “An exploration of the Pathological (or Extreme) Demand Avoidant profile in...Learn More
Autism, anxiety and the impact upon parents … four years on
This article is an update of our original article written in 2017 – long before we, and our children, were faced with the prospect of COVID 19 and the associated disruptions to school and everyday life. I am talking about about Autism and anxiety, an issue which has taken on a new meaning in the last eighteen months. Previous research suggested that up to 85% of autistic individuals will...Learn More