The Devastating Impact of Missed Autism Diagnoses: A Look at the St. George’s House Report
Understanding the crisis of Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) allegations and its profound connection to undiagnosed autism. Here at Help for Psychology, we are dedicated to providing the highest standards of care and support for children and families. A crucial part of this commitment is staying at the forefront of our field’s latest research and discussions. That’s why we...Learn More
Changing the scissors: A call for a truly neuro-inclusive world
For too long, our collective approach to supporting neurodivergent children has been fundamentally flawed. We have operated from a deficit-based model, focusing our efforts on trying to “fix” the child, teaching them to adapt, cope, and contort themselves to fit into a world not built for them. It is an approach akin to handing a left-handed child a pair of right-handed scissors...Learn More
Autistic Burnout and Misdiagnosis: The Hidden Toll of Masking
For many neurodivergent children and young people, navigating the social world can feel like being an actor in a play where they are the only one without a script. From a very young age, they learn through painful trial and error that their natural way of communicating, playing, and being is often seen as “different” or “wrong.” To cope, to survive, and to find some...Learn More
The First Stitch: Why an early diagnosis is a lifeline, not a label
Early autism/ADHD diagnosis empowers parents and children, offering understanding, access to vital support like EHCPs, and a path to authentic self-acceptance. Learn More
A Stitch in Time: the Benefits of an Early Autism Diagnosis
Read the story of a thriving young autistic person and how early diagnosis and support has helped him achieve his goals. 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